Wisdom of Chance
by 36Tesseract
Summary: This Story is in response to Vaanarash's Two Challenges; The 1st being his "Sons of Battles challenge" in which Naruto gets holes in his memories, which are filled by the memories of a certain dead shinobi, & 2nd Being the "Tenten's Ulterior Motive Challenge" in which Tenten decides to pursue Naruto because of his relationship with Tsunade the 5th Hokage!
1. A Jutsu, A Headache, And A Challenge

Wisdom of Chance, Chapter One: Pilot

* * *

 **A Jutsu, A Headache, and A Challenge!**

 _For the sake of Memories_

* * *

 _~ Forenote ~_

This story begins a few hours after Shikamaru's match in the Chunin exam finals ended. While the audience waits for Kakashi and Sasuke to arrive.

* * *

It all started… with a jutsu… well, the _implementation_ of a jutsu… and of course some _prick_ getting special treatment because he's some big important _bloodline survivor._

The previous match of the first round in the tournament had ended almost _**four**_ hours ago. Since then, everybody had been put on hold for the _precious_ Uchiha. The blond shinobi ground his teeth as he watched the spectators slowly thinning.

Enough was _enough_. The Uchiha had been given special treatment for the last time if he could do anything about it. If the old man refused to settle this and move on with the rest of the matches, then Naruto _would_ publicly prank him. Right here, right now, to give the spectators a good show.

Heading up to the Hokage's stand, the single kage bunshin knew his job. Ask the old man to move on, and if denied… as the boss expected he would be. Then disperse…. Not that big a prank… except for the massive amount of water he had drank after being created, which was still sloshing around in his belly.

The plan was, he dispels and the water gets left behind to splash the Hokage... vaguely, the bunshin wondered if maybe learning that freak Zabuza's water bunshin would have been worth begging Kakashi-sensei for it. He knew the man had copied it, but then, he didn't seem all that interested in his _other_ students.

Finally at the kage box, the bunshin nodded to the Chunin guards, "Hey, mind if I ask the old- I mean the Hokage-sama, about my _teammate's_ match." Looking at each other, the Chunin obviously considered turning him away. But of course, the fact he was on the same team as the boy they were all waiting on, made the final decision. He was let through.

Having already heard his voice, both kage were looking in his direction, as he entered the seating area reserved just for them. "Naruto, that was a good match you put on, I hope that your showing in the next round is as successful."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." The old man just raised an eyebrow as the exam participant gave a polite bow. "I would like to offer a minor excuse for my teammate. Our sensei is well known for his chronic lateness... And it seems Sasuke may have began to take after him."

While Naruto wanted the teme to be disqualified, simply whining about it would make him look like the idiot. And this bunshin, was not an idiot.

Well, not as big of one as his original was anyway...

He was well aware of how important it was to act correctly in front of the other kage. That was part of the reason his prank would be so successful. If he had any chance at this, he had to place the old man in a position where he, and this village by relation, would be embarrassed by the Uchiha's behavior.

"I won't apologize for it, It's not my place to do so. But that's how it is, and I firmly believe that our Sensei will not concern himself with the issue _unless_ an example is made. I understand many people have come out to see this fight more than any of the rest of the matches, but punctuality _is_ vital for a shinobi, and if Sensei has passed _his_ habits to my teammate, who _already_ suffers from an inflated ego, then our team will never advance as a whole."

The Hokage was quite surprised to say the least. Not only was Naruto displaying manners he'd not possessed to the Hokage's knowledge, he had also used a logic that, while minorly petty, was irrefutable.

And, he correctly used the word _punctuality_ ….

 _That_ was a larger surprise than the rest of it.

All together though, the kage felt he had little choice. This matter being proposed as it was, Sarutobi would lose face if he didn't take action to discipline the Uchiha. Not that he hadn't already considered it.

"Very well," The kage gestured to the guard at the entrance of their seating booth, "Chunin, have the proctor announce that if Sasuke isn't here in the next five minutes his match is forfeit."

The Chunin guard bowed and began to leave, " _And_ inform the proctor that even if he _is_ here before then, he has still _lost_ consideration for promotion. This match will only be to evaluate his _opponent_."

"Hai, it shall be as you command Hokage-sama," and with that, the Chunin vanished in a blur of motion, appearing in the arena next to the proctor.

It _worked_! The bunshin could barely contain his surprise. The old man had caved almost immediately! And, he didn't even have to prank his adoptive grandfather. The excited chakra construct now only needed to head back, and let the boss know. Making a bow, he began his exit.

Then, the Kazekage spoke up. His voice, was eerily _familiar_. "Hokage-dono, if perhaps, the Uchiha _is_ disqualified, then maybe we could pit him against my Gaara once _he_ has won the last of the matches?"

Okay, so the bunshin _never_ claimed his boss was that _smart_ , and _he_ probably shouldn't have been so insulted by that comment. Things might have turned out different, if the orange clad copy had just swallowed his pride and continue to leave. But he was still slightly unnerved by the voice, and furthermore, the creep had just counted out _all_ of his friends as _well_ as the boss. "Forgive me, Kazekage-sama, I wouldn't wish to contradict you. However you shouldn't underestimate the boss so easily, he's completely recovered from his match, and I think Gaara might have a harder time against him than you're expecting."

"The _boss_?" The Hokage's eyebrow raised slightly, and the Kazekage's eyes widened sharply. Oops! He had slipped. The jig was up. He was a _clone_ and he had just given that fact away.

"Your Genin would send a simple _clone_ to discuss such issues with _you_?" The masked Kage chuckled.

Smooth as ever, the old man had an answer, "Of course, he certainly would, he _is_ an expert at the jutsu, as he displayed earlier." The Hokage gave a grin. "I have it on good authority that the boy's clones can last longer than even one of _my own_. In _fact_ , the one time he attempted to test the _sheer number_ of kage bunshin he could create, his sensei lost count at 300 square meters _of forest_ covered."

That silenced the Kazekage. And it helped that it was even _true_. The bunshin recalled his time in the forest with Iruka and Mizuki. There had been way more clones back then, than he'd ever made since… And that had only been _moments_ after he'd gotten it right for _the very first time._ The construct wondered exactly how many the boss could make _now_?

The Hokage hadn't, of course, mentioned that this was his _academy_ sensei and not the Jonin Kakashi. And the words ' _of forrest'_ implied that he had been up and down the trees... Which he wasn't. But it made a great impression on the chagrined creep.

It was then, that they were interrupted by a commotion on the arena floor, as just before the disqualification, his sensei and teammate arrived. They weren't told of the earlier decision about the promotion, but were told they had almost forfeit the match.

"Well bunshin-san, there is your teammate. Why don't you entertain us with your observations of the match." The chilled invitation from the Kazekage's whispering voice made the bunshin gulp, the blond jutsu was unsure how to decline. The Hokage had just said he might last way longer than he had intended to.

His decision was made for him, when before he could even reply, the Hokage voiced his agreement. "That sounds like an excellent idea Naruto. Come, stand beside me and tell me your view of your teammates abilities."

Crap! He was stuck up here! If he got dispelled the prank would be set off even _after_ he'd gotten what the boss wanted! Of _course_ they wanted him to talk about _that jerk_. When did _anyone_ want to talk about someone _else_ , he'd gladly explain everything he knew about Sakura-chan, or even Shikamaru.

"I dunno Hokage-sama, sensei has been training him for a whole month since I last saw him… he might even surprise me."

The masked Kage leaned forware his voice giving the clone a slimy feeling with the amused tone highlighting it. "Oh, a whole month since you saw him? The Uchiha boy must have gotten much stronger since then, receiving _personal_ instruction for all that time." The Hokage even nodded his agreement at what the freak with the creepy voice said. Was it just the bunshin, or did the Kazekage sound a little _too_ interested?

Turning to back to the shadow clone the old man displayed one of the reasons the boss liked him so much. "And what training did your sensei give _you_ that month, I wonder? You've clearly been trained quite well for you last match."

"Well, he was a little focused on Sasuke, so he asked Ebisu-sempai to show me how to water walk." Naruto's copy wasn't sure he could call the man _sensei_ , except that calling him a closet pervert would ruin all the manners he had shown.

The Hokage frowned at this. He knew _exactly_ how long Ebisu had taught the boy, because the man was back to his regular routine the very next day.

"So it took you a whole _month_ to learn a simple chakra control exercise?" The Kazekage sounded bewildered, obviously doubting his earlier boasts.

But the bunshin was quick to reply, to maintain his dignity, that it only took 2-3 hours. Which only a second or so after he had replied, the idiot realized may have been a mistake, because it prompted the Kazekage to _again_ ask about his training that month.

Naruto's clone knew he couldn't mention the Kyuubi, not to this _creep_. Besides wasn't it like some big huge target on his back if he did? Of course, telling them he spent the entire time watching an old pervert _peep_ at the hot springs was out of the question too.

The bunshin had no choice, and quickly lied, "Well after that, I kinda didn't have anything else to work on, so I just trained on my chakra control." Reaching his hand behind him to rub the back of his head, the bunshin gave a nervous laugh. It was true! Sort of... He _was_ learning to control that other chakra Ero-Sanin taught him to access...

The Hokage was slightly shocked, he had known that Jiraiya had taught the boy to use the toad summons, but surely that wasn't the _only_ other thing he'd learned. Naruto's performance in the arena displayed much more growth since his bout in the preliminaries.

"Well that is certainly a surprise," Began the veiled kage, "One _would_ think you'd be able to _ask_ for more instruction. Perhaps, if you earn your promotion today, you could request an apprenticeship?"

The Kazekage leaned in towards the genin once more, "Find a sensei who'll truly _value_ your abilities. It happens commonly enough, you might convince a Jonin to take you under their wing and _use_ that great potential you have pouring out of you."

Kuso! that guy was freaking him out! The Uzumaki jutsu was certain he knew that voice from somewhere! But where? Who had he met recently that was as weird as this guy?

"You might give the _Mitarashi girl_ a try, I hear she's _single_ … as in doesn't have a Genin team," The clone saw the look of amusement on the two elders when he reacted to the memory of the crazy snake lady. Yeah she kind of fit with the creepy factor... But that wasn't her voice.

"Of course, if I were you," The Kazekage continued, "I'd be on the lookout for your Hokage's own student. The one who trained _the Yondaime_ , if _he_ could teach you, then a boy of your _talents_ would be a shoo-in for the godaime."

At this the Hokage interrupted them, "Yes, one could only imagine the things _he_ could have done with such an expertise in the bunshin arts. But I'm afraid we are missing the important match we've been _waiting_ for."

Down in the arena, Sasuke's kunai had been deflected by the sand, and he was now running towards the redhead, vanishing from the bunshin sight, and reappearing the same way Lee had in the preliminaries. It was _wrong!_ The way Sasuke was able to simply copy the technique, hitting the Genin with his lions barrage.

The Uchiha fought with speed that the Genin copy couldn't even _see._ What the clone _could_ see was his original, sitting there in the stands, completely shocked. Once again, the Uchiha had pulled leaps ahead of him.

And then, when the _genius_ could no longer get to the bloodlusting jinchuriki, the clone saw the worst possible act of _favoritism_ his sensei had committed thus far. His signature jutsu, the one he used in wave when the demon of the bloody mist had first attacked them, the jutsu he said was his _only_ original jutsu, was now in the hands of the Uchiha-teme.

Sure, the bunshin didn't expect it to go to his _boss._ But he had expected the man to have at least taught him _something_ , before he taught Sasuke that one. It was a lethal killing jutsu, the very same one that had _ended Haku's life._

And he'd just _given_ it to Sasuke, while ignoring his other students.

The clone felt a tidal wave of jealousy. Not just for the boss, but also for Sakura-chan. She was alone in the fact that she hadn't made it to the finals. Now the clone wondered if their sensei even saw her when he left, or had she just been spending this whole month at home or out with friends?

A blood curdling scream roused the clone from his inner turmoil Sasuke's new jutsu landed and hurt Gaara. The wounded Genin lashed out with an arm made of hyperdense sand. Throwing the Uchiha _across_ the arena to painfully _hit_ the wall on the other side.

0o0o0

As he came into existence, the new bunshin was unsure of what had happened next. All he knew was the old man had demanded his predecessor make a new clone and here he was. The older half of their chakra burst, having been flung _bodily_ **by the Hokage** _at the Kazekage_. And with that, his once forgotten prank was issued to the robed figure, who was now _soaking wet_.

Realizing his surroundings, the clone stepped between the two kage, they had moved to the roof of the next building that had been behind them.

"fufufufu," With _that_ laugh coming from the robes of the esteemed kage, the bunshin now _knew_ who's voice that sounded like!

The Hokage was already moving to fight, his robes had vanished and in their place was the armor of a seasoned warrior. "Kazekage-dono, we need not resort to such measures, any disagreeme—"

" **Hey old man** , _he's_ _**not**_ the _Kazekage_ at all," There was no time in battle to act all respectful and shit, that guy wasn't even the one he was putting on a show for! "He's that snake freak Genin that attacked Sasuke in the forest."

The third flinched. That the _Genin_ …No, the _bunshin_ of a _Genin_ , had realized this _before him…_ how long had the boy known, how many of those strange attempts at manners had been meant to tell him? The Sandaime reflected.

"The boy is right, _sensei_ ," That voice, Hiruzen was much too aware of just what was coming now. "I really should confess, when I put the _Five Elements Seal_ on you boy, I _never_ thought you would be able to overcome the unbalance it caused."

The Hokage sucked back a gasp at the implications. The progress Naruto displayed while training _completely on his own_ , was **_in spite_ ** of his chakra being unbalanced!

The fake Kazekage continued to giggle as he tossed his robes aside. "Yet you _still_ managed to improve, even though your chakra was _actively_ being _disrupted._ I _am_ impressed. It makes me wonder if perhaps my choice in Sasuke-kun was _premature_." _Again_ , someone chose Sasuke-teme over him…. What **a** _fucking_ **_surprise!_**

Thinking back, the bunshin could only guess that the seal the snake freak mentioned, was what beat him in the forest… _Wait_ didn't' the pervert do something to make his chakra relax? Was he fixing that?

With a growl, the Sandaime pulled the chakra construct behind him. "Orochimaru, whatever your intentions towards the boy, you will not see them fulfilled. _Today I correct the mistake I made when I let you leave._ "

0o0o0

The original Naruto was not aware of his clone's situation, not even aware that the clone was still there.

He knew the prank had not been needed, as a Chunin came from the Kage Booth to talk to the proctor. He just assumed the clone had gone somewhere safe to dispel.

What he _was_ aware of, was that his teammate, the one he had been _so jealous_ of only moments ago, had been _caught_.

During the match, he had been slammed against the arena wall. That had to hurt, and that was when Shika had woken him from the genjutsu that covered everything. Quickly reaching Sasuke the orange clad Genin tried to help him up… he regretted that.

The Uchiha had almost hit him when he got close. And so the four of them followed the injured sand Genin out into the forest. They were just about to attack when Sasuke fell, clutching at his neck. Of course, that _just happened_ to be when Gaara turned to attack them back.

And when his _emo-ego-ness_ was about to dodge the redhead's sand claws, some freaky fire ink spread from his neck, around his face and down his arm.

The Great Uchiha Genius fell right off the tree branch entirely, dropping like a sack of rice. Sakura-chan had tried to catch him, but the only result was that her arm had been broken by the sand claw as it knocked her out of the way and took hold the Uchiha.

Challenging Gaara, the blond jinchuriki charged as much chakra as he could into his body. He was going to have to move fast.

Then to his surprise, the claw holding Sasuke to the tree trunk split apart. Leaving a grip on Sasuke, while the arm retracted back to the sand covered Genin. Clasping his hands together, Naruto swore he would be the one to protect everybody. He _would_ save them all. And so the Genin created his army of clones, getting a gasp from the chick who had brought Gaara out here.

The tanuki boy demon thing, then turned back to the pinkette and laughed.

" **When I have beaten you I will feed both of your precious teammates to mother right in front of you!"** The sand had completely covered the Genin now, leaving only his feet sticking out. With the wave of his sand fist, he launched a sand missile at Naruto's free teammate. She wasn't fast enough to get out of the way. It broke _through_ the clones who tried to shield her. And the impact knocked her out of her perch where she landed awkwardly on her ankle, crying out when her leg gave a snap. Attacking the sand tanuki with all he had, the determined Genin drew on another source of strength. _Furious_ that Sakura-chan had been hurt, and _terrified_ that the suna-demon was targeting her.

0o0o0

The clone couldn't believe it. He was fighting in a battle royal between the third, and his evil student Orochimaru, plus two _other Hokage!_

He had almost immediately been shoved aside to remain intact, but feeling his original pull on the Kyuubi's chakra helped make up his mind, the boss was out there fighting, he should be fighting too. While he was being completely ignored by all parties in the battle he was safe. However, he wanted to help the old man, so he picked up the nearest piece of rubble and threw it at the evil Sanin.

The Hokage barked a laugh as the shingle beaned the man's head while he was monologuing. The serpentine shinobi hadn't even realized the ceramic projectile had been thrown until it hit him. Well, that's what you get for ignoring a clone of the next Hokage, isn't it?

The kage quickly pulled him out of the area, before it erupted into a churning pit of dust.

Once they had a lead away from the others, the elder shinobi quickly showed him a few hand signs and told him that the new jutsu would multiply anything he threw. While it was possible, and more effective to only use one seal for the jutsu, The Professor of ninjutsu had intentionally given the clone the full set of seals. This way the construct wouldn't need to try it more than a couple times to perform the jutsu with adequate results. He gave a demonstration of the jutsu by sending a single kunai the reanimated 2nd Hokage, and with the jutsu it became dozens.

"It'll copy _anything_ I throw?" The clone didn't have any kunai with him, so he would need to throw junk from the battle.

"Yes, Naruto, _anything_. Now I don't know how much chakra you have left, but try to keep at least one of them distracted for me would you?"

"hai hai," The bunshin used the jutsu, slowly pulling trace amounts of the fox's chakra into him as he did so. One roof tile, became ten solid chunks of twisted ceramic, A chunk of stone from the broken roof became a dozen equally deformed chunks of rock.

This new jutsu was almost _exactly_ like his full clone jutsu, while it required less chakra, it also only needed to be solid to work, so the details were not as taxing as his Shadow Clone.

Still, the Bunshin didn't start using real shinobi tools until he had tried the jutsu numerous times, and once he had it down, the kunai he managed to swipe from the battle, became a volley of blades sent at the Sanin.

His first attempts had done little to affect the nukenin, but when he began to send sharp tools it finally got his attention.

The snake bastard finally noticed him. So when the Sanin caught one of his kunai the bunshin used all the fox chakra he had gathered to create _Eight more_ of himself before the pale man killed him with a flick of his wrist. Luckily the others had bolted the moment of their creation.

The bunshin were alive, they had been created to bombard the _living_ Sanin, as the Hokage found a way to beat the …. other, two... er... Hokage.

Each of them took a distant position around the battle so all of them wouldn't be killed of by any hit that could beat one of them. As long as they were spread out, they could keep replenishing their number. So the clones fought.

At least four of them at any time, were targeting the Sanin. One or two of them would always cast some projectiles into the old man's fight. As the fight went on, one of their number had finally saved up enough fox chakra to make a new clone, who then attempted to break out. It didn't work. The wall seemed to be made of purple fire.

Luckily, the old man looked like he was winning. He had beaten them back twice now. But the dead shinobi reformed from the dust and came at him again. Each time they did, the old man had to abandon the jutsu he was trying to do.

Soon the third Hokage had them both reforming, and the old man went for a different jutsu. Quickly signing the hand seals that the clone knew so well… Giving the blond construct an idea.

"Hey old man, wait a second I got an idea!" He shouted, nodding to another who jumped at the two reforming masses of earth crumbs, the bunshin split into four of himself each one grabbing the reforming kage they were next to, and running with them. Strait into the wall of chakra fire.

With the Hokage dust not fully reformed it was easy to shove their remains into the wall. Especially when the two clone holding each mass of reforming jutsu were willing to burn with them.

At that same time the four targeting the Sanin opened up with all they had, which, after the several times he had used it, was only limited by the amount of chakra they put into the jutsu. While he had only been an annoyance with the few kunai and shingles he had been sending at the Sanin, when the clones started sending projectiles by the _hundreds_ , the Sanin decided to end his interference.

And the last clone, the one who had continued to pull on the fox's chakra, raced toward the hesitant village leader.

The Hokage had almost expected what was to come from the Genin's _**Idea**_. Realizing what the boy intended to do, he decided to give the Genin the chance he deserved. So much of the boy's life had already been _squandered_ because of the poor judgements the elderly village leader had made. It was time for him to _trust_ , that Naruto could follow through on his boast. The Hokage allowed his arm to be taken and jumped when the boy finally took it.

Grasping the outstretched arm of the waiting Hokage, and throwing him up in the air, the bunshin used the seals for shadow clone projectile jutsu, ending it with the seal of his own _full_ kage bunshin jutsu instead of the final replication seal.

It _worked!_ Creating a Shadow Hokage Clone Jutsu! Now that there were _seven_ of the old man, each with plenty of chakra in them, he had the advantage. As the seven kage landed, the two justu made shinobi reentered the battle. The Sanin had easily taken out the other bunshin without the man's sensei to keep his attention off of them. But it was too late for the traitor.

Having seen what the clone had just done, the Sanin could only stare wide eyed as the many Hokage attacked with none of the hesitation that held the third's startled predecessors in place. It was Impossible! Was _this_ what his sensei had meant when he said the boy was a genius with the clone jutsu!? The spared a single look at the remaining clone and sent his silent message of all his thoughts and memories, out to his hidden contingency. There was little possibility this body would escape alive.

The one remaining shadow clone who had performed the impossible jutsu watched, as the man who had taken care of the boss all of his life, used some jutsu to rip the _chakra_ out of the two jutsu kage. And then again, out of the Snake Sanin.

With the battle over, the old man fell to his knees. The massive purple wall of fire around them collapsed, and the several ninja who had seen the battle gathered to help, rushing towards the fading Hokage to provide what medical aide they could. The six Hokage clones, seeing the end of the battle, burst.

In the end, there was nothing to be done. The gathered Iryonin could only bare witness.

With the knowledge that he had so much to make up to the boy who had fought beside him, and that his time would soon pass as his jutsu ended and his soul was devoured.

The Hokage considered the _sheer_ **audacity** of the jutsu the boy had just used. Naurto was going to become a great shinobi... as long as _this old man,_ ensured nothing held the boy back any longer.

Reaching out and grabbing the arm of the nearest medic-nin the Hokage sucked in his breath for his last and _final_ words.

"As my last act, as Hokage, I grant Naruto Uzumaki a battlefield promotion to Chunin, and declare that his heritage and all his parent's assets are to be released to him. He is to be apprenticed officially to Jiraiya—," The old man stopped, gasping for breath. It seemed he knew he couldn't get any more out, and in a harsh voice, he ended his life with the words, "So I decree."

Toppling forward, the elder shinobi died with a smile on his face.

The clone couldn't believe it, his parents… he was going to know who they were. And then he realized what _else_ had just happened. _The old man was dead!_

Then, the sole remaining clone felt _it_. _**Pain!**_ The Boss had been hurt! The fox's chakra, which had sustained him, was drawn out of the construct by the original, and he dispelled.

0o0o0

Almost 80 years of information, of memories, of life, bombarded Naruto's mind when the Six Sandaime Bunshin Burst. The pain it caused, brought the Genin to his knees within the sand of the beast he climbed.

It was then, that the first _truly_ agonizing wound of many to be dealt that day, was inflicted upon him, the sickening crunch of his legs being crushed echoed through the tree's as his cry of pain overshadowed it.

The blood pouring from his ears, left him deaf to the sounds of his screams, while he began choking on the blood from his nose. His head felt like it would explode, this pain was beyond what he had ever felt. Added to it, was the screaming in his legs.

One thing made it through the haze of pain, _save her!_ Sakura-chan was hurt, and in danger. He had to save her! Reaching his hands out towards the sleeping vessel, Naruto grasped his sash. Sand swirling from around the boy wrapped over the leaf-nin's arms, almost covering them completely to the shoulder, while his shredded legs were suddenly yanked inwards. Pulling him from the redhead hang out of the demon's face.

When the blond leaf vessel's grip wasn't broken, the sand tightened crushing his arms, and covering the Genin in even more of his own blood.

Still, Naruto pulled, he pulled with his very _chakra_ , calling on the Kyuubi once more, to help him reach his destination. And finally, with one _last_ surge of will power, The blood soaked shinobi slammed his blond locks into the sleeping face of the Ichibi Vessel. The result was another sickening crunch, as the boy's nose broke, and he awoke with a scream of pain.

The sand demon's towering form crackled and exploded in a flood of sand. While Gaara landed safely on his sand, the leaf ninja wasn't so lucky. The burst of sand had blasted his upper body out, while still holding the remains of his legs deeper in its layers. Causing him to flip over end, when he finally _was_ released a fraction of a second later.

With no limbs to guide or even cushion his fall, Naruto landed head first into the hard ground, his neck at a crooked angle. His head split, and from it dark red blood and other fluids gushed in fountains.

Yet, the boy struggled. The rest of his body finally falling to the ground, leaving the Genin face down. Slowly the the bloody blond head turned upwards. Reaching out with the Kyuubi's chakra, the crippled leaf-nin pulled himself towards the terrified suna jinchuuriki. The red arms of chakra, resembled a liquid mist of blood, even more so with the amount pouring from the Genin they dragged. A trail formed behind him, as he ever so gradually made his way in the Ichibi Demon Vessel's direction.

The pinkette nearly vomited at the sight of what could only be _demonic_ _ **blood**_ reaching out and dragging a mangled corpse, with four torn, shredded and crushed limbs dangling behind it, as small strips of flesh tore completely off when they passed over rougher parts of the ground. What _was_ he? _Nothing_ could live after all _that!_

As the sand fell away from the Uchiha, Sakura tried to catch him with her one good arm. He was awake at least. Seeing the horrific form of their teammate, Sasuke shoved his useless teammate out of the way and began to climb down from the tree, sprinting to intercept the enemy moving in the dobe's direction.

Naruto spoke, telling Gaara of how close they were, of how he could have been the same way as the suna-nin was now, of how his friends had saved him from the pain of being alone. He was nearly to the whimpering redhead when a form appeared in front of him.

"Get away from my brother!" Was the only warning the bloodied boy got before her massive fan swung under and up, catching his face and bunting him into the nearest tree, where he crumpled in a heap. The blond kunoichi gathered her brother and began to run, even as she did she heard it.

"Sasuke-kun! _Just leave him_ , we need to get _you_ to the hospital!"

"We can't! Not after all he just did for us! He-" and the Uchiha's words were cut off as the kunoichi pulled him off balance.

"I don't care about him! He can go ahead and _**die**_ _already_."

After hearing the few things she had from the Genin she'd intercepted, Temari knew exactly how crushing those words were. If he lived, he wouldn't live long.

0o0o0

 _" **Please live,** "_ the fox begged his prison. The boy could live if he _only willed_ it, the brain damage was minor, and most of the other damage could _easily_ be repaired over time.

But the brat just didn't want to live. All of those memories from his Hokage bunshin jutsu had overloaded his meager brains, but _not fried them completely_. And the bash on the head could be fixed as _easily_ as the broken neck.

But the prisoner couldn't do any of it. The Kyuubi no Yoku, greatest of his family, was held at bay by the seal containing him. He could normally heal the boy without the seal interfering because the boy _wanted_ to be healed.

This time was much different, this time Naruto didn't _want_ to survive! Even as the boy died, a stronger will took hold. The elderly shinobi stepped up to the gate of his cage.

"I _know_ what is wrong, and I _know_ you wish to live as much as I want _him_ to." The Sandaime began.

" **How are you even in the seal you old monkey?** " The man was dead, the demon's chakra within the bunshin had felt the shinobi's life be devoured by the death god.

"I am not _me._. heehee, as it were." Came his almost giggled reply! "I am _in fact_ , a _**copy**_ of _me_ , made with Naruto-kun's chakra, I can only assume that the reason I didn't pass onto my Original, is in part because of the origin of the chakra used to create me, and the fact my original self is dead, although I may _still_ have been sent to him even then, had he not _sealed himself_ into the belly of the Death God."

Dimly, the collective will of the six Hokage Bunshin regretted dispelling. If he had lasted past his original body's demise, he may have been able to correct many of the things he was leaving unfinished.

"For _those_ reasons, I believe my mind was carried with the rest of Naruto's chakra, back into him. As to why I am still _self-aware_ and not simply a group of memories... It may be that his mind has suffered such a trauma, that it _isn't capable_ of absorbing me as of yet."

In truth the Hokage's will knew that his time was limited, and while he could, he wanted to improve the boy's chances, so he had already begun sorting his own memories. A quick experiment with the _Uchiha disaster_ had already proven to him that he was capable of **_erasing_** the memories he was formed out of.

"We need to act quickly. So long as I will it, your chakra can be moved from the seal, just as if it were Naruto willing it. But, I doubt very much that I will remain after the damage is repaired. So our _first_ priority is to erase _all traces_ of his desire to die. Then, once his will to live is restored, it will be up to _you_ to repair his physical body. During that time, I _must_ ensure, with the remaining moments of my awareness, that he is not _burdened_ by the worst of my nightmares."

And so, The Third Hokage, and The Nine Tailed Demon Fox, worked hand in hand. And our Hero was Reborn….

* * *

 _~ Note_ ~

Course of diversion from canon:

 **N** aruto gets the Hokage to disqualify Sasuke if he's not there **;** **K** akashi brings him there just in time... _earlier_ than in canon **;** **S** asuke hadn't saved up that extra hour's worth of chakra for him to make the chidori a second time **;** **W** hen he used it, his hand was stuck in the sand, and unlike in canon he couldn't use it again to escape **;** **H** e was thrown into the wall **;** **H** is resulting pain caused the curse seal to spread faster **;** **T** rying to fight the further spread seal as he did in canon, made Sasuke fall off the tree branch **; B** ecause he was falling, Sasuke was caught in Gaara's claws instead of Sakura **;** **G** aara targeted Sakura to make Naruto angry **; N** aruto received the memories from his clones causing major brain damage **;** **H** is resulting pause allowed Gaara's sand to grab him... leading to his arms and legs being crushed in turn **;** **H** aving no usable limbs Naruto drew out more of the fox chakra **;** **S** akura, seeing the demonic arms drag Naruto's mangled corpse, lead her to telling Sasuke to just let him die **.**

Orochimaru _**WAS**_ devoured by the death god! _He still exists_ because of the copies he placed in Anko and Sasuke's _Heaven's Curse Seal_.

Naruto's 3rd Hokage clones only gave him the memories because the 3rd was dead and seal into the death god. Otherwise the chakra would have simply been lost... torn between two targets and not returning to either. Because of that, he will _**NOT**_ be able to repeat the process.

Beaning a monologuing villain; It helps that Orochimaru had been completely ignoring the clone. He hadn't even realized that the clone was even willing to fight.

Naruto Learning the Shadow Clone Projectile Jutsu:

Naruto learned the Shadow Clone jutsu in only a few hours right? And I'm going to assume that making a full human body with mind and shape and movable features is much more complex than a kunai or shingle. And after learning that and _**using it**_ for months! Naruto also learned to tree and water walk, As _well_ as learning to channel and direct the Kyuubi's chakra, increasing his chakra control exponentially. After that I would assume it would only take one or two tries for ANY shinobi.

Things Naruto won't remember:

The end of the battles that just took place.

The Uchiha Plot,

 _ **Anything**_ concerning Sakura, from before his memories are restored.

The private times between the third and his wife,

The worst and bloodiest scenes in the war,

And anything before the third made Chunin, because that was just too long ago. Naruto won't even be able to remember the actual promotion, he just knows that all his memories are from Chunin and up.

It will be a few chapters before I reach the part where " _Tenten's Ulterior Motive Challenge_ " comes in.

* * *

Most items in all my Naruto fan-fictions will be based off of T8: Retroversion's timeline. Many of these details will be universal across them all.

Meaning any mission or OC, or other major details will be included, based on their background and trigger events.

{This will not include Kurenai's conspiracy or Hinata's abuse}

* * *

While T8: Retroversion will be my main Fic, Five others are on my list to work on at the moment: LATE Naruto: Life After the Ends; Uzumaki: A Lone Fox; The Thousand Ninja; Village Hidden in Plain Sight; and Wisdom of Chance. **Descriptions on profile**.


	2. Forgotten Life, Miscalculation,& Mission

Wisdom of Chance, Chapter Two: Missing Memories

* * *

 **A Forgotten Life, A Miscalculation, and A Mission!**

 _For the sake of Forgetting_

* * *

 _~ Forenote ~_

Naruto has lost all his memories and will recover them and start the actual _**challenge**_ when he meets Tsunade in the next chapter or two.

* * *

Today was a sad day. The entire village mourned. Their Hokage, the third Face on the mountain, had died. And today, they held a service for him alone. Tomorrow would be full of services for the other shinobi who had been lost. But _today_ , was meant for him.

Naruto, was unlike the other shinobi who were out there mourning. He didn't feel sad, He wasn't upset. He didn't miss the man.

In fact, Naruto had no idea _who_ the Sandaime even was.

… Actually, He only knew his own name because someone had told him. The boy was so worried about him. He had actually stayed in his room with him before he woke up.

Konohamaru, claimed to be his little brother. And when Naruto had no idea who the kid was, the poor child was heart broken. The nurse who had been there when he woke up immediately called their uncle in to take his brother somewhere else.

Naruto didn't recognize the _man_ either. There was a faint glimmer of pity in his face, but mostly he was mourning like the rest of them.

Naruto was left there most of the day, not receiving any visitors that he could remember. The empty minded child could only lay in his bed and wonder about his arms and legs. What had happened to put them in such thick casts? In fact, he was completely strung up like a puppet. He could even feel something on his head and face.

He was sure that someone would have told him about it already. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember anyone saying _anything_ about what happened to him.

Later that evening another person arrived. He was worried, Naruto could tell. And he was also trying to hide it.

"Dobe, I heard that you don't remember anything… I just wanted to tell you.. Who I am and that you're not alone."

The boy sat on his bed and looked out the window, deliberately facing away from him.

"My name is Sasuke and we... We are best friends. We are each other's only friends. We became friends because we both lost our parents. Yours were killed in the Kyuubi attack a few hours after you were born, and mine... were killed by… By a _plague,_ that hit my clan."

He could tell his 'friend' was holding something back. Something to do with the _plague?_

Not knowing how to respond, He introduced himself, "I'm Naruto, It's nice to meet you."

They sat and Sasuke explained to him a few things about their life. He was a shinobi. Up until when he was injured, he had been a Genin. Now though, he was supposed to be a Chunin. Except that he had been hurt in his last mission.

He was on team seven which consisted of four members, Him, Sasuke, _another-person_ , and their sensei, Hatake Kakashi.

They had been on several missions together. And their biggest one had been when they rescued an entire village from the clutches of a merciless tyrant. The evil midget had hired legendary missing-shinobi to kill off the man who was leading the village in a rebellion.

And they had been hired to protect him.

They talked for a while about the mission and about the other members of the team and soon they even began talking about what they were doing before he was hurt.

They were in an exam, meant to test Genin to see if they were ready for a promotion.

Naruto and another Genin had been the only ones promoted. The other Genin was Shikamaru. A lazy teen boy from the Nara clan.

Sasuke made a point to explain in depth how Naruto had been furious when Hinata was insulted. How he vowed to avenge her loss in the preliminaries, and how as the Uchiha was told, he had thrashed Neji when they fought because of the beating he had given the girl. It was clearly a sign that they had feelings for one another. And secretly, Sasuke hoped this would help him to move on past the pinkette who had so casually thrown his life away.

But in the middle of the final matches, one of the other villages attacked.

According to Sasuke, Naruto had managed to use a jutsu that let him be in two places at once. He had fought not only the host of the demon raccoon that had captured Sasuke, but also alongside the sandaime, Naruto had faced the kazekage, two _zombie_ Hokage, and the rogue shinobi Sanin, Orochimaru.

And he had been the one to beat all of them! Even when the Hokage had to leave the battle to perform a sealing jutsu Naruto had been the one to fight and hold off the four kage level shinobi by himself, and single handedly beat the demon raccoon into submission.

Everyone was so excited about his battles that they had pushed his promotion through even with his injuries.

Sasuke had told them everything about his fight with the demon raccoon. About how he had been able to go toe to toe with it when it was smaller, about how he had made over a thousand shadow clones at least. How he had summoned the boss toad Gamabunta, the very same toad who fought the Kyuubi with the fourth Hokage.

How he had somehow transformed the giant toad into the demon fox so they could fight evenly with the fully released raccoon. And then, how when his arms and legs were crushed he had still moved with his chakra alone, even though it was mixed with the river of blood coming out of him. He had kept fighting, and took down the host of the demon after the demon itself had been beaten.

It had taken a horrible head trauma from the beast, his arms and legs being crushed by sand, being slammed into the ground from about six or seven stories up, his neck being broken his spine getting compacted by the impact, a second major head trauma that actually split his head open and ripped a part of his brain out, and even then he still had to be smacked by an iron club and sent through a tree crushing most of his face, breaking his rib cage and snapping his spine before he was fully beaten.

And that was only one of his fights. Sasuke hadn't been there for the other one but he had heard about it.

There had been many witnesses who had been able to hear that his chakra had been actively disrupted by a jutsu for the whole month he had been training and so he had done all that, even with his chakra control messed up.

Their sensei was shocked! He had been completely caught off guard by Naruto's battles. And when he heard the full accounting of them he had actually had to sit down to take it all in.

And _another-person_ was so sure he wouldn't survive...

Naruto Interrupted here. "Who?" He had no idea who the person Sasuke had just mentioned was, of course that wasn't so strange anymore.

" _a-name!_ Naruto I just told you about her a few minutes ago. She's our teammate under Kakashi-sensei, You had a huge crush on her during the academy."

"I don't remember talking about … what was her name again?"

"It's _a-name!_ Naruto are you okay? What all do you remember us talking about?"

Naruto told him everything they talked about. All he could remember. And after several small hiccups in his memories Sasuke began to breath heavily.

"You remember everything else, Why not her? Why don't you remember _a-name?_ "

"Why don't I remember who?"

His teammate looked at him in shock, almost terrified by what he had just said. Naruto however could only look in confusion as his teammate suddenly made an excuse and left. What had he said?

0o0o0

Naruto's condition was stable. That was what really mattered… he had even woken up yesterday. But the Genin, no… the Chunin couldn't recognize anyone.

Haruno Sakura had visited twice yesterday. And both times she had needed to be introduced. At first she was smothered in guilt at her last words about him.

The image of his broken body being dragged by demonic arms made from his own blood was a sight that left her unable to sleep since the battle. The nightmares of seeing his flesh falling off as he slowly pulled away right in front of her would probably always haunt her.

Then she felt smothered in pity for the boy, at the damage he had taken. And in confusion soon after her first visit. When she came back carrying the ramen she promised they could eat together, Naruto had no idea who she was.

He didn't even remember her explaining to him about his favorite food. He had no idea what _ramen_ was! She quickly spoke to the nurse about it, and Naruto recognized the woman right off the bat.

She wasn't sure what to feel about that. She refused to accept the small bud of jealousy about the other woman being recognized while she was forgotten.

Even _Inner-Sakura_ was a little irritated at it. Although _Inner-Sakura_ also cheered that at least now the little monster kid wouldn't be pestering them anymore.

Eventually she had began to study. It was a little difficult with her arm in a sling but she had resolve. her slight limp from the fractured shin didn't bother her when she was sitting at a desk reading anyway. Trying to find out how he could remember one person and still forget all about another. She had even asked to study the memory maps the Yamanaka-clan made.

 _Inner-Sakura_ mused that having her entire clan dedicated to aspects of the mind in one form or another, made Sakura's friend a very useful resource.

They had all kinds of information she was able to study, but it didn't seem to help her find anything concrete.

There simply wasn't any explanation that didn't involve someone actively filtering his mind from within it.

On the bright side, both her and _Inner-Sakura_ could agree, at least Naruto didn't remember her trying to leave him for dead.

She wasn't sure if Sasuke was going to share that fact with anyone, but she knew that if her sensei ever found out she'd be completely screwed. With all of his speeches about never abandoning your comrades he had given, the fact that she had been attempting to do just _that_ would infuriate him.

0o0o0

Sasuke sat on the edge of the bridge where team seven would often meet up for missions. His legs hung over the side. He leaned his back against the rail.

The Uchiha was alone in his thoughts, as he waited for his mind to accept what had happened to his best friend. What Naruto had been willing to go through to save him and Sakura. How Far Naruto had come since their entry into the exam. And father still, since they graduated and became a team.

Naruto continued to improve, and grow. He had somehow learned an A-Rank cloning jutsu. Which Sasuke had learned required more chakra than the Uchiha could currently produce. The 'dobe' had matched him step for step when learning the tree climbing skill. The idiot had even beaten their opponent on the bridge, while Sasuke couldn't touch the kid even with his sharingan unlocked.

At each turn in their training Naruto had slowly pulled forward while he had stagnated. And then the Chunin exams came.

Sasuke had been shocked to learn how Naruto had fared, but his true enlightenment came when he learned that Naruto's chakra had been disrupted the entire time.

It was the seal that Orochimaru had placed on his teammate in the forest. Sasuke had seen him place it right on the Genin's navel. And when the village elders asked him about it, he had been able to confirm that the snake Sanin had indeed put a seal on Naruto.

And then he was asked a question that made him sick.

 _Why hadn't he mentioned it before?_

He assumed that they would find it when they gave Naruto his medical at the end of the preliminary matches. His own seal had been identified immediately by their sensei. Not that he was the only one who had seen it happen. But Sasuke was less confident in his other teammate's concern for Naruto these days.

After he was released from the debriefing, Sasuke asked around and found out that Naruto hadn't even gone for a check up after the preliminaries were over. In fact, they had no records of him at all. It's not like he could have forgotten it could he? Who forgets having such a huge seal put on them? But Naruto was never checked out. and because he hadn't said anything, Naruto had been handicapped by the seal.

And still, he had trained with the seal disrupting his chakra for a month. Naruto had managed to beat Neji, even with his chakra the disruption. He had not just lasted against him, but had won an undisputed victory against the Hyuuga genius!

And more, Naruto had beaten the Uchiha's own opponent, Gaara. Going so far as to summon a _boss_ level Toad to fight the Ichibi Demon inside the redhead.

In only a month, the orange clad Genin had passed Sasuke at almost every point. Earning his promotion hands down. _And he had done it with his chakra disrupted._

According to the Jonin who had been stationed next to the Hokage, the only thing Naruto was taught over the month a simple chakra control exercise, Water walking. A more advanced form of the same skill that allowed him to run up the wall in the arena. It wouldn't have accounted for the sheer growth that Naruto had shown fighting against Gaara.

How had the dobe climbed so much higher on a single chakra control exercise!?

Sasuke was almost willing to flat out ask the boy… but he wouldn't be able to help. He had lost his memories. He had forgotten everyone he knew, forgotten the village, his past, the Hokage, and even his crush on _her._

That was only the mental damage he had suffered.

The image of the torn and bloody Genin dragging himself by his blood soaked chakra was burned forever in the Uchiha's mind. Naruto had done _that,_ gone through _that_ to **save** Sasuke, to save _her_. Naruto had forced himself to fight at a level of damage that Sasuke couldn't even think of without hurting. _**For them!**_ He had been willing to die to save them, to free Sasuke from the grip of the crushing sand that held him to the tree. No one had ever gone that far for him. The Genin was drowning in guilt at the damage his teammate had taken. And to the avenger's own dismay, he also felt joy. Naruto cared... Really cared! It wasn't some rivalry thing or even simply doing his duty. No, to go _that far_ for someone meant _love._

No matter how Sasuke choose to deny it or ignore it, Naruto had become his closest most precious person. Even before the exam they had gotten closer. But now... Sasuke hadn't felt like this since his brother was a good person. Naruto was almost like having a bran-new brother. A _little_ brother of course. And he wasn't sure how to accept that.

The Uchiha was conflicted. On the one hand, Sakura had done everything she could to convince him to leave Naruto behind. She wasn't worth the training they were giving her. And Sasuke knew his sensei would want to know that she couldn't be trusted with Naruto's life.

On the other hand, Naruto didn't remember her and this could be a chance to make things work out better than before.

There was a fresh start, and she could earn their trust.

If Naruto found out now, then it could sour that fresh start, and prevent any true teamwork from being rebuilt.

Yet, Naruto wasn't able to remember anything concerning her. Even things said in the same conversation as her name was forgotten. But what if he did remember? There was _still_ no telling if he would remember _that part_ , and if he remembered her, and found out what she had tried to do…

His teammate would be devastated.

"Yo, I thought I'd find you here…"

It was his sensei.

The Jonin was suddenly just sitting there, on top of the railing Sasuke's back leaned against.

His legs kicking like a child's, his hands holding the rail to either side of him to keep him balanced, no perverse book in sight…

Completely nonchalant, and relaxed.

"Hn." He had nothing to say to the man. He had seen the seal on the 'Uchiha' but not the one on his other student!? Sure, Sasuke understood why he was given the extra training. His opponent was a _**homicidal psychopathic demon container**_ from _another village!_

The worst Naruto's opponent would have done would be to lock his chakra and mocked him.

No one even thought it possible for the dobe to last against, much less _match_ the Hyuuga genius. And it was a complete impossibility for him to have even the slightest chance at winning. So any other opponent being a threat to him was out of the question.

However, a _cursed seal_ was another issue.

How could the man simply leave the thing on his own student? Unless he hadn't noticed it. The seal on Naruto wasn't like the one on him. And Naruto really should have gone for a check up...

"Naruto is going to be fine, Sasuke." The Jonin interrupted his brooding student's thoughts. "Even if he doesn't remember _some_ things, eventually the rest will come back to him…"

"And if not… Well, he isn't going to let something as small as forgetting a few memories to hold him back from his ambition is he?"

The masked Jonin lowered his head down to look at the boy. Making eye contact.

"Sensei, Naruto's arms and legs were crushed! Then, in a matter of _days_ , the bones practically _**grew back!**_ Now, he has no idea who he even is, and he is _still_ forgetting things he learns about. I know it's _his_ business, but I have to ask what is going on."

The boy's arms still hung in their casts, but every time the medics checked on Naruto's condition the bones were just a little more knitt together. It would only be a few days before they were healed completely at the rate they were going.

"How could he have healed _so quickly_? Why does he keep forgetting everything about _only a few_ select people? What is the _big secret_ that _everyone_ is hiding about him? And _who the hell_ are his parents anyway!? The third's _last orders_ were to release his heritage, _so why haven't they!?"_

All of his budding questions flowed out of him as if the release valve had been broken off. And the Uchiha himself didn't know why he had asked the last two.

"His heritage _is_ going to be released _to him_ , and him _alone._ " Kakashi looked away from him, and cast his eye to the morning sky.

"If he wants to tell everyone, that's up to him. But Sasuke, how would you feel if no one knew who you were, or what you had been through. And then, Just when everyone is beginning to accept and respect you for who you are, someone tells everyone that you're actually _only_ the little brother of the infamous Itachi? Everything they respected you for, would soon become a pathetic _**shadow**_ of your _brother's_ accomplishments. You already know how that feels, but for it to be pushed on you overnight is something entirely different."

Sasuke understood completely… It was part of the reason he had made up the story about the plague. But that wasn't all he got from it. His sensei's statement meant that at least one of the dobe's parents were high level.

"As for his healing…" The Jonin continued.

"It's a combination of his mother's bloodline and a few other issues he has. Not in the least of which, is his massive chakra reserves. Naruto has two or three time as much chakra as _I have,_ and that makes it extremely hard for him to control it.

"So the best way to make him stronger, would be to teach him the control. And in doing so, give him more access to his massive reserves. The way a shinobi channels chakra to their limbs in order to increase speed and strength is only limited to how fine your control is and how much chakra you can use.

"While medically a normal shinobi can only add so much before their body starts to be damaged, Naruto's naturally large reserves gives him far more _room_ to channel his chakra _into_ than the rest of us, before that damage will occur. And even after that, his mother's bloodline allows him to recover from the damage which pushing too much chakra will cause anyway."

That was much more information than Sasuke had expected. So the dobe had a bloodline that allowed fast healing. And it was on his mother's side. Which meant she was probably the one he would be compared to. Or maybe it wasn't her as a person rather than the fact that he had a bloodline that they were hiding.

Sasuke accepted this new information with about as much grace as he had greeted his sensei with.

"Hn"

0o0o0

Coming from the training grounds, Hatake Kakashi silently entered the village hospital. He didn't bother to check in or anything, he didn't feel like wasting his time with some wallflower in scrubs. His talk with the Uchiha went quite well. He had explained Naruto's fast healing in a way that would make the boy drop his questions and he had given a quite plausible explanation for the Genin's rapid improvement.

Now he only had to speak with… his ' _forgotten'_ student.

He had been informed shortly after the battle was over, of all that Naruto had accomplished. Including the fact that the Genin had the _five elements seal_ on top of the _Yondaime's eight triagrams seal_.

It had already been removed of course. When the hospital staff asked Jiraiya to take a look at it when they found him in Naruto's room, he told them he had taken the seal off the moment he found out about it. They all just assumed that was why the man had been there to begin with.

It wasn't as if the Jonin hadn't _checked_ for a seal… so much as he hadn't checked for one where he already _knew_ he'd find one… Besides that, he was looking for something else entirely.

And yet... His sensei's son managed to overcome the issues it caused.

Kakashi had known he was being unfair to Naruto. His plan had been for both of boys to lose to Neji. Naruto winning just wasn't possible. And Sasuke would have been drained by the chidori in his match against Gaara. And without _that_ , he would have been easily beaten by the older Genin. It would have allowed him to survive his first match without wounding his pride by making him quit like a coward. Only to have him thoroughly defeated so that he didn't argue when he wasn't promoted. Many of the higher ranks had already stacked the matches up. And _not one_ of the matches had gone as predicted.

Naruto had won! The Puppet wielder didn't participate, and lose against the Aburame. Shikamaru forfeited his match instead of winning as Asuma had instructed him. The Sandaime had sent his Chunin to contact _him_ an hour earlier than they had discussed. And the pre-planned encore of the Uchiha fight was interrupted.

If not for the invasion, their entire lineup of second matches would have been a disaster.

It was supposed to be Shino against Shikamaru while Sasuke rested and then Neji would out class Sasuke and earn his promotion. Ending when Shikamaru would simply forfeit his match against the Hyuuga and earned _his_ promotion.

But if things had gone on as they were, Shino facing Temari would have been another round of mind verse wind. and Naruto would have fought Sasuke.

Kakashi could have easily deduced Sasuke's victory at the final match on the day of the tournament. His fire jutsu would have been an easy match for either Temari or Shino. However, now the Jonin knew, that had things not been interrupted, his orange and hyper student would have been the eventual victor.

The Uchiha wouldn't have been able to beat his teammate. And Naruto would have kept fighting long after the other two had been exhausted.

Arriving at Naruto's usual room, The Jonin was surprised to find his student already awake. It was early morning but the boy was happily playing a game of shogi with Nara Shikamaru. Someone that by all logic could never be awake at this hour. The lazy boy had his standard flak jacket on, and another one hung on a chair.

Instead of introducing himself to the amnesiac, the Jonin masked his presence and watched as they played. The Nara wasn't just there for a game. Naruto's onetime friend didn't even pay attention to the game. He was more focused on the blond in the casts. The Nara would move Naruto's pieces as he was told and then tell Naruto things about the village. About the clans and all the shinobi ranks. About their day's at the academy.

The strung up Chunin was frantically trying to both learn what the genius had to tell him and play the game at the same time. His focus was too split to play that well, but the Nara never capitalized on it. Instead, the mobile Chunin passed over several good positions and strikes to prolong the game in a way that the other boy wouldn't notice. And with each move he eventually made, he spoke about a new topic of the village.

Kakashi watched for almost two hours as his student was slowly re-educated. Until finally there were only three pieces on the board, and the Nara had Naruto in checkmate. Packing up the board, Shikamaru said goodbye and headed out.

Kakashi was about to enter once more, but a small squeak made him pause.

"Ano, I can wait if you have something to say to him…"

"Not at all, Hyuuga-chan, Go right in." Reaching behind him, Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as if embarrassed. "I'm just trying to think of how to convince the hospital staff to let me take him on a few D-Ranks…"

And with that, he ended up watching as the girl shyly entered the room and introduced herself. It wasn't long before Kakashi noticed he wasn't the only one watching. And slightly more concealed, was the genjutsu the the Hyuuga girl's sensei was using.

It seemed to be having the right effect. Hinata had almost passed out twice before the jutsu forced her to calm down enough that she could say what she had come to say.

And then, the jutsu failed and the girl passed out anyway. The dense as a rock Chunin listened to every word she had said and asked what the difference between love and liking was… because he thought he might feel the same way as she did.

The genjutsu mistress promptly entered, introduced herself and took the unconscious girl out of the room.

Kakashi wasn't sure why Kurenai had thought Naruto should hear about Hinata's feelings, however it was clear she had been crushed when she heard about his condition. From the look of her eyes she had been crying for days on end.

Kakashi waited for a few minutes before he entered. Allowing the boy to breath and get over his confusion.

Sitting down, the Jonin introduced himself and was met with a description of himself from the Uchiha's eyes.

Exactly _what_ did that stuck up little _prick_ think he was doing, telling Naruto that Kakashi spent all morning _masterbateing_ instead of teaching them!? His love of the Icha-Icha series was _not_ about that! It was about making _other_ people feel _awkward!_

Correcting that issue and telling the hyper blond a few other things, the Jonin moved onto the blond's question about love and explained exactly what it meant and how Hinata felt.

He was careful not to mention the girl Naruto kept _forgetting_. He didn't want to explain this to Naruto _again_. And when he finished, his student was quiet. Thoughtful. It was clear he enjoyed the idea that a girl would _value him_ so much that she thinks of him before anyone else. And it only took a little bit of smooth talking to _subliminally_ suggest that Naruto _may_ have felt that same way about _her_.

Keeping his hints as subtle as he could, the Jonin carefully avoided anything that may tip the boy off to his little _manipulation_. If all went well, then should Naruto ever _regain_ his memories, then he wouldn't be able to recognize what Kakashi had done. The dim Genin would _assume_ it was his _own misunderstanding_ that led him to the wrong conclusion, and by that time he should already be so in love with the girl that his _memories_ of his feelings for his teammate _couldn't_ change anything.

The fact that Naruto _already knew_ that Hinata was the girl he had fought the _Hyuuga genius_ to avenge, did wonders to help him come to the desired conclusion even before Kakashi had explained love to him. Score that up to _two_ points for the little Uchiha prick.

With his own hints added on, the Jonin doubted very much that Naruto would miss out on his only real chance to find love. It wasn't like it was _hard_ to see which of the two girls would be better for him and the team in the long run.

His current crush wanted nothing to do with him, and it wasn't likely to work out if they didn't find a way to prevent him from forgetting anything even _relating_ to her.

A brief smile flashed beneath his mask as the Jonin thought for an instant 'what would happen if Naruto tried running in a forest of Sakura trees?' Would he forget they were there and smack right into them?

The momentary humor passed and Kakashi returned to considering his student.

Hinata actually _liked_ him, Sakura hit him at every chance. Hinata could _see_ the demon's chakra and _still_ liked him, Sakura had done _something_ to make him forget her very _**existence**_. Hinata would help him to grow stronger and increase his chakra control, Sakura was pathetic on her own. Not that Kakashi intended to let her stay that way. He had at one point thought that she would wake up to the real world, but after he had been so wrong about Naruto... He was going to break her starving body until she either shaped up, or dropped out.

Soon, it was time for Naruto to be fed and bathed by a nurse, so Kakashi offered to eat lunch with him later and said his goodbyes.

0o0o0

The village council was at a loss as to what to do. Only the Sanin's presence kept them from ignoring the thirds final decree.

They _had_ promoted Naruto to Chunin without hesitation or even reluctance. His jutsu was now an SSS-Rank Kinjutsu, and they simply couldn't have a Genin who knew one of those. And then he woke up, revealing that he had lost his memories and the promotion was unnecessary.

However his heritage was going to be the main problem for the foreseeable future.

For one, _most_ of them had no idea what the late Hokage had been speaking about. For another, in order to _release_ his heritage they had to have three major clan heads and the Anbu Commander witness, because the file was considered an SS-Rank secret. Which was the only thing the Anbu Commander could tell them about it.

There were several others who apparently knew, but they all agreed not to share until it was officially released. _Even still,_ the Chunin was also mortally wounded and _couldn't_ function as a shinobi. The mental damage alone would have resulted with him being pulled from the ranks. But he was _paralyzed_ , all of his limbs ground into dust, and his body was broken in more ways than it was possible to survive.

And to top it off, while they could have the acting council process the decree and order the Anbu Commander to disclose the file so they could release it, this _was_ the demon child they were talking about! It would take a three fourths vote to release an A-rank or higher document without the Hokage there to make it happen. And they would be lucky to even get a majority.

What they needed was a new Hokage. Not that they didn't need one anyway. But the Sanin had exerted a certain amount of pressure on them to finish up with their _politics_ and get the job done.

When they simply couldn't, the towering shinobi declared in no uncertain terms that it would happen. And to make it easy, the Sanin issued a single order.

"Nothing is decided until I return with Tsunade, she will make a fine Hokage and she can also heal the gaki. I think though, it would be for the best to bring him along. It would probably be better to get him healed _before_ asking her to take the job."

"but he isn't cleared for missions, he is still wounded." The whining elders would complain about being whipped with a golden lash, as far as the toad hermit was concerned.

" _Yes…_ and _**that's**_ why I'm taking him to _**her!**_ _She_ will _**fix**_ _him._ " The sage put as much sarcasm and condescension in his voice as he could. "And _when_ she is _done_ we will discuss _her_ _ **new**_ _job_. _That way_ , even _**if**_ she refuses to become the Hokage, he _**still**_ _gets_ _ **fixed!**_ "

Their natural response was to argue some more. They argued that the Hermit wouldn't be able to care for the boy properly while he was busy looking for the medical legend. And the sage had to admit they had a point…

But who said he had to be the one doing it? "I'll just have to take that kunoichi from his team with me to take care of him."

The Sanin remembered that the boy liked the pinkette from the time he had prepared him for his life or death training method. Besides, maybe it would help his memories come back if they were of fond little fantasies.

Reluctantly they agreed, her scores _did_ show that she would make a competent medic. After having her brushed up on his daily care and needs they would be able to set out.

* * *

 _~ Note_ ~

Naruto lost all his memories for the time being, but Tsunade will unlock them. Meanwhile, Naruto seems unable to even _form_ any new memories of Sakura. He can remember everything else he is told, just not her… Or anything that she is involved with.

Sasuke's Visit: Sasuke had felt that everyone who cared about him was gone, Killed by Itachi, and that people who did care about him now, only cared about his name. He also thought that Naruto's actions were out of his own need for attention.

To _see_ Naruto as damaged as he was, _still_ trying to protect him, finally got the message through. Sasuke now knows that they are friends. And Naruto is the _only_ person he truly thinks of as such.

Sasuke didn't want Naruto to define him by his vengeance as he once had so he told him the story about the plague.

Sasuke's Stories of Naruto: Sasuke didn't get to see any of Naruto's matches himself, so he could only go off of what he heard… At that point in time most of the rumors were inflated even when stripped down to the facts.

Hinata's Confession: The reason that I had Hinata confess to Naruto is much like how after a death, people will say the things they never got to, to the grave for closure. Yes, she knows it's not the same person, but she never got to tell him and it's damaging her mental state. This will be elaborated on when Hinata gets a P.O.V. scene.

This won't be a Naruhina, Per Challenge, I'm making it a NaruTen, however this does set up for eventual rivalry between Hinata and Tenten.

Things Naruto won't remember:

The End of the two battles he was just in.

The Uchiha Plot,

 _ **Anything**_ concerning Sakura, past, present or future… at least until he meets Tsunade.

The private times between the third and his wife,

The worst and bloodiest scenes in the war,

And anything before the third made Chunin, because that was just too long ago. Naruto won't even be able to remember the actual promotion, he just knows that all his memories are from Chunin and up.

It will be a few chapters before I reach the part where " _Tenten's Ulterior Motive Challenge_ " comes in.

* * *

Most items in all my Naruto fan-fictions will be based off of T8: Retroversion's timeline. Many of these details will be universal across them all.

Meaning any mission or OC, or other major details will be included, based on their background and trigger events.

{This will not include Kurenai's conspiracy or Hinata's abuse}

* * *

While T8: Retroversion will be my main Fic, Five others are on my list to work on at the moment: LATE Naruto: Life After the Ends; Uzumaki: A Lone Fox; The Thousand Ninja; Village Hidden in Plain Sight; and Wisdom of Chance. **Descriptions on profile**.


	3. A mission, A Nurse, and A warning

Wisdom of Chance, Chapter Three: Missing Memories

* * *

 **A Mission, A Nurse, and A Warning**

 _For the sake of Remembering_

* * *

 _~ Forenote ~_

A New Poll is opened. Details at the end of the Chapter.

* * *

Nervous? Yeah… She had blown _way_ past nervous, when the man had introduced himself.

Haruno Sakura sat across from one of the _Legendary Three Shinobi_. He was tall, but not towering. His white _mane_ was spiked and wild, but not unkempt. It shined with an obvious care and grooming that would have made Ino proud. Not that Ino would have been able to do more than sit and ogle at him either.

The Sanin smiled wider as she was unable to process his question. His charming face highlighted by the red tear line marks of his clan. Each stripe started at the center of his bottom eyelid, and continued down to his stubbled jawline.

'Answer him you idiot!' voiced her _Inner-self._ Shaking her mind out of shock, the pinkette realized the Sanin had asked if she wanted to help _him_ with an _A-ranked_ mission.

"What are the mission details?"

Sanin or not, she wasn't sure she was _ready_ for an A-rank.

"Its pretty straightforward really. You just have to take care of your teammate while I deliver him to _mine_ for medical treatment."

She had no doubts about which teammates the man was mentioning. Naruto was the only one of them that needed the medical treatment, and Orochimaru had just lead an attack on the village ending with his death.

Which meant that the Sanin was going to bring the baka to see the legendary _Tsunade!_ There was no way she would miss out on that!

She agreed with vigor and joy! With her confirmed agreement the Sanin gave her a writ of service requiring her to attend a medical training course for the next week or more depending on evaluation. It consisted of three pages. The first was the actual service writ, the second was a separate list of suggested materials for her to purchase. Finally the third was a document stating that all materials listed on the previous page were covered by the village treasury!

Each of these pages were signed and sealed by the entire village council! The entire back of each page had been reserved for signatures! The Sanin never did things halfway did they!?

This was exactly what she needed! All of her reading into the human mind had come up with quite a few things about why her injured teammate couldn't form any memories about her. She had even found a few things that related to her own mind she wanted to expand on. But until she could either use Ino's jutsu or decent medical jutsu, she couldn't test any of it!...

Of course, that was all a mute point if they went to see the medical legend!

 _Inner-Sakura_ was even more excited than she was! Screaming in her mind that Ino and every other girl she knew were going to be so jealous of her! Maybe the woman would even be able to tell her how to make Sasuke-kun fall in love with her!

Her mind was made up.

Once the Sanin had dismissed her from the dining table, having payed for her food himself, Sakura headed straight home.

Even though her arm was in a sling and her ankle was fractured, she refused to let anything get in the way. So swapping her sling for medical tape and combat bandages, the kunoichi adjusted her leg brace and set out to gather her medical supplies.

She had quite a few of them once the hospital staff finished making suggestions. She eventually wound up learning to operate sealing scrolls from the owner of one of the shops she had visited, just so she'd be able to carry them all.

Once she finished her shopping, all of the materials were packed neatly away as recommended by the Medical Staff coordinator. On each outer thigh, Sakura had three sealing scrolls full of supplies.

Her left being her dominant side had actual materials such as raw herbs and other medical solutions from one scroll. A full field kit of any tool or implement she would ever be able to operate outside of the hospital in the next. And the third scroll stored the combat supplies, such as poisons, throwing needles and combustible solutions.

Her right side was more of a storage depot. It held things like blankets, full sterile water canteens, bandages, braces, splints and other such items in two of the scrolls. The final sealing scroll held her various texts, notes and journals of study.

Not only did she have the texts that the Medics recommended, She still had her research into the mind which she had began when she first realized that Naruto couldn't remember her. This included several scrolls and copies of texts from the Yamanaka clan.

After those were the four belt pouches. Two on her back just above each buttock, and one on either hip. The ones on her back held the emergency supplies, which she would have to use immediately without the time to unseal. Including antidotes, antibiotics, and painkillers. Most of these were inked onto brightly colors needles for application already.

The pouch on her right hip, like the others on her back, was completely sealed with a release string that would instantly allow her access. Unlike them though it held an assortment of ambush reaction needles. These were precoated in various poisons, sedatives and bacteria. Venom's, viruses, heavy metals, and other many different agents of chemical combat were all sorted out in her left pouch memorized to the individual point for perfect use.

The one on her left was her standard weapons pouch, with contents such as kunai, shuriken, wire and rations and the like.

On each wrist she was recommended to wear a needle cuff seal, which could store up to thirty untainted needles. However she placed both wristbands on her right arm where they blended in perfectly with the combat tape that extended from the top of her bicep to her wrist and wrapped around her palm leaving only her thumb, knuckles and fingers uncovered.

Examining herself in a shop window Sakura realized how different she looked. Her hair had been cut short during the second stage of the Chunin exam, and her normal black shorts had been replaced with a long pair of black leggings that ended just under her knees. Permitting the scroll straps to attach without discomfort. Her single weapons pouch now displaced by the other three.

And her face.

It wasn't the happy person she knew. She had seen her sensei ripped to pieces on her first real mission, her crush had been dead in her arms, or so she had thought, she had faced off against one of the Sanin and lived to remember the fear her created, she had been beaten and maimed to protect her teammates and she had seen one of them turned into little more than a disgusting stubborn strip of ground meat and animated arms of blood.

The bags under her eyes betrayed her sleepless nights filled with terror at the sights that haunted her. The creases of her brow and mouth told of her newly soured personality. How long had it been since she had smiled when no one could was there to see her?

She wouldn't be able to perform her best if she didn't get some sleep. It was time for her to admit she needed help. The nightmares had to be dealt with.

0o0o0

Sakura had been coming over to Ino's house almost every day since the invasion. She was worried about Naruto not knowing who she was no matter how many times she had been introduced.

Ino could understand her worries. She had lent her some of the Yamanaka clan texts on the mind. Nothing that could get them in trouble for sharing but they were still very helpful.

Of course the pinkette wasn't there only to study. She also needed her friend. She was devastated by what had happened to Naruto. She didn't even need to say it, her eyes were all that Ino needed to see.

She had done what she could to help. Letting Sakura rest and get what little sleep she could before the nightmares woke her.

Today though, a different Sakura entered her room. She was decked out in gear, and her arm sling had been replaced with a fashionable weave of combat tape over her right arm. The lack of tape on her left produced a slight aging effect on her body language. As if she stood with more authority. The illusion was good.

Forehead wasn't here to look at texts or hear any of her normal gossip. Instead she asked, Humbly and sincerely for help.

Ino knew how to do what she asked, suppressing the images of her wounded teammate. It wasn't too hard or complicated especially when the subject was willing.

But she would need to enter her mind to do so. Her father was able to simply access the mind and manipulate it from his own body, however thus far Ino needed to fully enter in order to have even that much control.

This time was much different than the exams. Sakura _was_ willing and and there wasn't any of the stress of the ordeals they had gone through. Ino had he time to set it up properly, lighting aroma sticks allowing the pinkette to relax as she opened one of the many music boxes her father had bought her as a girl and propping her own body with cushions.

And with the proper time and care taken to form each seal of the full combination, her jutsu was far more effective than before.

She was in her rival's mind. She could feel the soreness of fatigue and the slight pain from Sakura's wounds. But turning away from the exterior, Ino dived inwards into her friend's mind.

Here she could see the mixed emotions of pride, determination and guilt among others. Those three being the strongest.

Why?

The pride was instantly explained as the pages of her writ of service came to bear. The mission focused her determination. And a little further on the fear, the _guilt_.

 ** _The disgust._**

There was the image that had been causing nightmares. Ino was certain that she too would be having nightmares as well from then on.

Naruto dragging his body across the forest floor, by means of two arms made entirely of dark oozing red blood. His own arms drug behind in little more than strips of mangled skin was left of them. His legs suffered the same fate.

A strip of one leg caught a protruding root and ripped off.

Ino wanted to vomit.

Looking at the boy's face she saw his head split open, was also bleeding, his greymatter easily discernable from the flowing wound. His neck had been broken leaving his head to lawl and bounce as the blood arms pulled him forward.

Even as his head shifted his eyes remained fixed on the redhead. This fear that Sakura felt was unreal! It was carnage and murder and white agony seeping into her soul!

The blonde kunoichi who had faced Shikamaru in the exam landed in front of the damaged Genin. Her massive fan sent the boy crashing into a tree.

And Ino heard it.

She heard what Sakura said, what she felt behind those words!

She wanted Naruto to die, to quit, to just give up and stop! Ino's best friend tried her hardest to force the Uchiha to abandon the monster that clawed his way at the enemy. It was fear, revolution, and remorse.

The perfect combination to form nightmares.

Focusing her soul, the Yamanaka bound each fractured memory weaving others around them, embarrassing ones, funny ones, and even a few sad ones.

Without conscious willful thought, Sakura's mind would rebound to these memories anytime anything would remind her of this scene.

That meant that her subconscious had no access to them.

Her mission was complete. She was about to return to her body when some _thing_ grabbed her arm.

"You saw it!" Sakura accused.

Sakura shouldn't have even been there. Sure she had pushed her out once, but that wasn't an effective dive. This was.

Ino felt out the mind she resided in. Sakura was still in her external consciousness.

So what was this?

"You saw it! You know what I said! I can't let you tell!" The mental construct declared.

Ino understood as she glimpsed the mental images that passed through her mind. She was afraid their sensei would kick her off the team for how she had reacted.

"I don't quite understand what you are or how you came to be, however you're a part of my friend and I would never do anything to hurt her." Ino bagan. At her direct address of the construct, the second Sakura's eyes widened and she let go of Ino's arm.

The mental image faded leaving Ino alone in the mindscape once more.

Returning to her body she found that Sakura had finally passed into sleep. After weeks of nightmares the girl was soundly unconscious.

0o0o0

It was the first day of Sakura's lessons, the first of about eight days… because that was how much longer the Sanin thought it would take to get Naruto ready to move. Arriving at the hospital she headed straight for the clinic where she was supposed to meet her given teacher.

Their sensei had been annoyed when she informed him about her required absence from their team, but he also seemed to relax a little too.

Seeing her new sensei Sakura rushed to greet her, making sure to present a well crafted first impression.

The woman deftly ignored her rehearsed introductions and simply began ordering her to task. "A dying man doesn't care what your name is more than his treatment! Work first! And work fast!"

Most of her day was spent that way. Cleaning wounds from the invasion, and changing bandages. When the Sanin had said that the mission would require medical training she had expected to be bringing a fish to life, or mapping diagrams of the human body on her first day. Her chakra control was good enough to _start_ on jutsu. And she had already read half of the medical texts she had gathered… or close to it.

The woman's response was a harsh bark that medical study was not magic! No jutsu can do more than hard work.

At the end of the day, Sakura had been worn to the bone. And that was when the real learning began. That same woman who had bossed her around had also prepared her dinner. And for once, Sakura was too hungry to worry about her weight.

She ate it all.

As she digested, her new mentor Kenko-sensei, explained how medical practices operated.

Most of it was exactly the same as civilians had. They had herbalists and apothecaries that created medicine, and craftsmen who created their tools. They used medicine just as much as the civilians did. The only thing that Iryojutsu did was enhance it.

Take her arm for instance. It had been broken, and under a normal care it would have swollen up, bled inside the muscles from burst capillaries and they would have had to cut it open to set the bits of bone back where they belonged.

The Iryojutsu allowed them to seal the capillaries, detect any other bleeds and move cells with their chakra as they needed to without surgery. Some advanced jutsu could even repair the cells themselves.

However, the average ones only started the healing process. With their ability to use chakra to manipulate the reactions of the body, they could prevent things like swelling, infection and going into shock, which was cause by your body sending a message, via nerves to your brain, that said 'panic!' Stop that, and you stop the body from going into shock.

From that point they can pass the bone pieces through the torn meat without damaging it any further. The meat would be shifted to the side with chakra as they pulled the bit back to place and submerged the medical creams through the skin and into the flesh. While it _could_ glue the pieces of bone back in place, it can't make the bone regrow or knit together. That has to happen on it's own.

These few tiny advancements made all the world of difference. Identification, access, cleaning, clotting, and preventing counterproductive bodily reactions

The vast majority of life threatening injuries are only so bad because medics can't reach them in time, or without making more damage or because the body reacts to the injury in a way the makes it worse. Medical ninjutsu or Iryojutsu, solved that.

But just because they have access to the injury and can prevent bodily reactions from making it worse doesn't mean they can work miracles. Her arm may not have swollen or gotten infected, and every piece of bone may have been placed exactly where it needed to go, but it would still take time to heal. The bones needed to refuse and the meat needed to scar up and heal.

The biggest advantage Iryojutsu gave them however, was _not_ treating the issue. It was identifying it! The simple diagnostic jutsu that every medic learned was basically allowing your chakra to flow into another person, and molding it so that the person's body doesn't reject it. Once the chakra was there all you had to do was use it to 'feel out' the issue.

With more skill, the better it got, however most beginners couldn't even mold their chakra well enough that it didn't get rejected, and once that was done the depth of the scan could range from "I feel your skin" to "I see your broken bone" to "you have a virus in your ear and a fungus on your toes."

It was said that the Sanin could even tell you if your child would be male or female only a day after you coupled! Most of the advanced medics required at least a week before they could tell that the coupling had been successful at all.

All of that said, it was still far better for the body to heal on it's own. Once you got past the initial issues of getting the healing process started, the rest was exactly the same as civilian work.

0o0o0

The next several days passed with her working too hard and falling out of contact with everybody. Sakura hadn't been able to talk to Ino about her mental form as she had promised. And she hadn't even seen Sasuke since she had told their sensei that she was being enrolled in a medical training course.

She spent more mornings working in the clinic, and afternoons were spent learning how to use the medical equipment, identifying symptoms, and learning all the different chemicals she had purchased and their attributes.

The fact that she never had to be told twice about anything quickly got Kenko-sensei's approval. Her quick study of all of her medical texts over the evenings led to the woman becoming very impressed with her book knowledge. Which led to the harsh Iryonin forcing her to practice the practical side of things.

She had to do two full autopsies and care for over a hundred different medical issues over the course of the week.

By the time the training course was over she had thoroughly impressed her sensei.

There were only two days left before the Sanin had said they would be leaving and Sakura hadn't learned a single medical jutsu.

According to Kenko-sensei, most Iryonin had to train for years to get any real skill. And many never learned the first jutsu until their first year was over. However Sakura had proven herself and so, the first and most important thing she was going to be taught was the Diagnostic Chakra Scan. The second thing was normally reviving fishlife to hone the chakra manipulations that were needed. But that could wait until she returned.

0o0o0

The 'Sasuke-kun' never came.

Sakura had shown up for their meeting after nine days of missing it. And didn't say a word to him.

She was only here to check in with their sensei before she left later today. She was leaving the village with Naruto and the toad Sanin in order to bring him to a medic who could fix his memories.

Sasuke had to admit he approved of the change. She was quiet, and serious. Her demeanor was dignified in a way he still hadn't seen in any of girls he knew from the academy.

Her change in equipment was also a welcome sight. The medical supplies and gear were organized exactly as the professional Iryonin did theirs.

The Uchiha could barely see any of her limp now. The small fabric leg brace was easily covered up by wearing one on both legs. However the asymmetry of her bandaged right arm added a trace of experience to her overall image. As if it was telling him that she _wasn't_ still trying to figure things out.

With a swallow she looked at him and finally spoke. "Have you visited Naruto yet?"

At the mention of his teammate Sasuke could only glare at her.

With a sigh the kunoichi looked away. "You should come see him off. He's probably going to be nervous about leaving the village."

"I'll be there." She wasn't even guilty about what she had tried to do. But at least she was willing to help make things better. Or at least as much help as she could offer...

"How far have you gotten?" He asked. "With your medical training."

"Well, after performing two autopsies I'm no longer terrified of Naruto."

That caught him off guard. Her casual almost easy reply. As if what she had done was no more than a joke!

And then he understood her words. Terrified _of_ Naruto!? Of what? His horrible fashion sense? His jolly attitude? His retarded levels of stubbornness? His reckless drive to do stupid shit? The sight of his bloody flesh being pulled by demonic limbs made of even more blood—

"Oh…"

Sasuke couldn't help but say it out loud. Might as well ask his question again. "What have you learned then?"

Looking back towards him his annoying teammate came to the surface once more. "I'm a prodigy Sasuke-kun, just like you. I'm months ahead of the beginner level and it's only been the one week!"

0o0o0

Sakura was leaving today. Ino hadn't been able to get her out of her mind! Which was irony since it was her own entry into the other girls mind that caused her mental blockage.

It was clear that the Ide of Sakura's mind had been developed a little higher than natural. However, when the Ino had confirmed her once best friend's photographic memory, it began to make sense.

Sakura's mind had developed a swollen Ide in order to retain all the information her conscious mind couldn't sort through. It was by no means a split personality. She had seen one of those before. Her father had actually paid a handsome price for exploration of a couple minds who were in the same body.

It had been interesting.

Yet what Sakura had was basically an overdeveloped inner monologue. It was almost separate from her deliberate thought process, as a coping mechanism for her taxed mind.

Still though, Ino wanted to learn more. So she _too_ began to study.

The Ide was actually developing independence of her friend. It wouldn't be able to truly split off without some kind of mental meltdown, but it was getting stronger.

From what Ino could learn, if something wasn't done to deal with it, it could eventually become the dominant personality. Which would basically be as if Sakura lost the ability to filter her thoughts on her own.

Of course as her friend matured her still developing prefrontal cortex could begin to compensate, allowing the two to fully reintegrate.

She wasn't quite sure how to ensure that would happen, however she was certain she could help it along.

Ino was studying her clan's jutsu scrolls and the past applications of the jutsu when Sakura arrived.

She had to hide these scrolls this time. Unlike the ones that she had lent her friend and love rival, these scrolls explained some very specific details which could never be permitted to leave their clan.

She didn't have much time and so she reacted out of habit. Quickly slipping the clan scrolls in her hideaway, the place she hid some of her most secret secrets, Ino rushed to the front door to let her in. Completely Ignoring the whisper of conscience that tried and failed to remind her that Sakura had been the one who originally helped her create the cubbyhole.

Sakura had been run ragged at the clinic over the past week. They never did get to discuss what she had done to help. After explaining how she had twisted the memories around it to reflect the subconscious Ino told her about what else she found out.

 _She knew!_

Ino assured her that her emotions had been perfectly normal. What she said wasn't anything uncommon in that kind of situation. Sakura's reaction was to shout at her.

"Normal!? When has there ever been a normal for seeing someone you care about, get literally ripped to little pieces and still keep fighting!"

Sakura had a point, How had Naruto kept going? It couldn't have been sheer will power could it? A rumor had gone around about how his mother had a healing bloodline that allowed her to heal faster than any normal shinobi, and that seem to have passed on.

When Ino had visited him, his charts had been for more recovered than Shikamaru said they were the first time he had visited.

Perhaps the blood arms had been related to that? Of course Kushina Uzumaki, the primary suspect for Naruto's mother, also had the ability to create chakra chains out of her own body's flesh and blood. That would certainly explain it.

Sakura agreed with her about most of her theories. And to finish it off Ino ran to grab some of the records she had asked for from her dad's office.

Coming back into her room she showed Sakura the medical files of the Kunoichi when she was in the academy, and a well hidden document about her pregnancy later on that Ino had managed to find. The timelines matched up. At her stage of pregnancy she would have given birth within the week of the day Naruto was born.

Ino never got to mention her confrontation with the other Sakura. They had only just began scheming to find out more on Naruto's mother when there was a knock on her window.

Ino recognized the man who had recruited Sakura. The Sanin. And opened the window to let him enter.

"Hey girls, I always hate to interrupt before the naked pillow fights, but we need to get on the road." The Sanin informed them, leaning on the sill without bothering to actually come inside.

Ino wasn't sure how to react to that, so she just slammed her window on his fingers and turned to say goodbye to her best friend.

0o0o0

Today was the day Naruto got out of the bland white walls of the hospital. The day he got to actually _see_ the village he had been told so much about!

He might not get to see much of it. But even the amount of it he saw on his way to the village gate should be an experience. It wasn't time to leave yet, however he had a few visitors who wouldn't be able to see him off from the gates.

His team, both of them had come. His sensei and his partner were leaving the village early that morning and wouldn't be able to see him off when he, a nurse, and the Sanin left that afternoon.

Sasuke was as mushy as ever. Hugging him tightly before they left. His sensei didn't show anywhere near that amount of emotion. His simply ruffled his hair and pulled out that book.

It would be a few more hours before everything was ready to go. But Naruto had many other visitors on their way.

After his team left, Hinata the girl he may have been in love with… or at least liked, came in with her team. He hadn't met either of her teammates yet but Hinata had been over twice since the first time. She had eaten lunch with him the second time. And Naruto was surprised to hear that she had cooked it herself! It was probably the best food he had had since he lost his memories.

The next time Hinata had come over she had played shogi with him. It took an hour to finish, but Shikamaru took longer.

Introducing Kiba and Shino to him, the Hyuuga sat on his bed and began feeding him a sweet bun while Kiba excitedly told of several of their joined prank efforts. They stayed there like that until team ten arrived. Unlike team eight, Naruto had met all of team ten. First and foremost was Shika-kun who had visited every day to play a game of shogi in the early mornings.

His easygoing friend had spent hours telling him about the village and what they all did. He told him history and chakra theory as well as the current events of the recovering village.

Ino Yamanaka spent a few hours telling him things too, but most of it was more about who did or does what. It was from her that he learned he'd had a crush in the academy… though she had mentioned it a couple times he couldn't remember if she ever told him who it was…

The short-term minded boy had no other option but to think it out. And realized that it must have been the Hyuuga. It made sense cause she was from a big clan and he didn't have the guts to tell her any more than she did.

Ino had also informed him that he kept a house plant. She had graciously adopted it for him while he was away. So he owed her big time when he got out.

Finally there was Choji, by far his least vocal visitor over the last week. The larger boy had been introduced by Shikamaru only a couple days ago. Shika had discreetly warned him against a few forbidden words, like fat, and work and barbeque… The larger boy had been his friend from the get go. He would be anybodies friend.

However today was the first time he had met them all together. The dynamic was vastly different than he had imagined. He had thought Shika would be the leader cause of how smart he was, and he kinda thought Ino had a thing for Choji.

The reality was nothing like that. Ino constantly abused Choji and Shikamaru tried everything he could to hide from her. The hour or so of shogi that morning was more chaotic than any of the memories he'd formed so far.

Once the game was over, Naruto was helped into a wheelchair and roll out of his room to where Iruka-Sensei waited.

His sensei had visited only once before but had promised to take him out to _their_ favorite food stand in the village. The man had been his sensei for years before he met Kaka-sensei. And had also been Naruto's first true friend according to Konohamaru.

He pushed Naruto's chair down the street, stopping every so often to show him part of the village or tell him something the crippled boy had done in it.

When they finally reached their destination it was the ramen shop that Uncle Asuma had brought lunch from when Konohamaru visited again.

Teuchi and Ayame both greeted him with affection, A free bowl of ramen from the man and a tight hug followed by a kiss to Naruto's cheek from his daughter.

He enjoyed his meal thoroughly. The ramen was good, but the company was the best!

0o0o0

They had been on the road for almost two hours and Naruto hadn't said a single word. Glancing back at the Chunin and his Genin propulsion system, the toad sage half expected him to be asleep. Instead the boy was wide eyed looking at the forest around them.

Stopping his gaze, the boy realized his wheelchair was moving on it's own. Looking behind him, he gave a start when he realized that he had been getting pushed all this time...

The Sanin resisted the urge to slam his face into his palm. So rather than doing that, he put an extra bounce to his step and began humming.

His great idea! His wonderful, definitely-gonna-help, method of recovering Naruto's lost memories via raging teenage hormones, had gone bust.

He had been told about the recurring memory issue. About the gaki not remembering certain people… The hermit had assumed that it was random people or even just people he didn't like.

But as the Chunin constantly needed to be reminded that Sakura was there, it was obvious _who_ he had been forgetting.

Why hadn't the toad summoner asked who it was!? The Sennin knew he was and would always be a fool… but he had thought that he'd already outgrown being an idiot.

When the man eventually gave up his hope that long term exposure to her would fix His godson's issue, he stopped them and asked the girl. She had been completely confused.

She had no idea what was wrong with Naruto and thought that was the reason they were taking him to see the medical Sanin in the first place. She had assumed that her presence was in part so that they could test to see if he could continue to remember her after Tsunade had fixed him.

Not such a bad idea… and it certainly made sense to do it that way, plus it meant that the gaki wouldn't have to remember any of his medically required treatments… Such as help bathing and using the restroom.

At least, not until his memories were restored…

0o0o0

Waking up Sakura groaned. She didn't want to know… She had never wanted to know about _that!_

It had been over a week since they left the village and the rookie Iryonin was already damaged for life. She had seen things, _done_ things. Not just taking care of her teammate. Although that had been horrible enough as it was. He still needed the wheelchair, but the bones in his limbs had all but regrown, and most of the muscle damage was repairing itself at an extraordinary rate.

Soon Naruto would be able to begin physical therapy, to get his body used to moving on it's own again. She had attempted to use the diagnostic Jutsu to scan over his body and find out just how fast he actually was healing however she couldn't get a reading. It was as if his chakra was attacking hers as she submerged it, and consuming it faster than she could even pull it back out.

Over the time they had spent traveling Sakura hadn't been able to think about much, she hadn't gotten to study her medical texts or any of the information she had gotten from Ino. She hadn't even considered getting _that_ out.

However Naruto wasn't awake yet so the Genin reflected on Ino's theory.

Kushina Uzumaki. Able to heal at approximately one hundred and eighty percent the speed of any normal shinobi. Se had been in the academy at the time and it was likely that as her bloodline developed the rate had increased. There was still the variable of damage levels. She hadn't suffered any major damage to be recorded by that point in time so it was still entirely possible that her healing rate would have gone up dependant on the severity of the damage.

She had the ability to grow solid chains out of her from almost nothing. And retract them back into her body as if they were never there. It had been public knowledge that the hokage had decreed Naruto's heritage be released to him. Which meant, that it had been _sealed_ by the village.

The elderly leader had known who they were. And had kept it a secret.

Why?

Sakura knew she would find out who they were and why it was covered up, but she still tried to figure it out in her head.

 _Inner-Sakura_ didn't care so much about that, as she did about her feeling of violation at what all the girl had been required to do.

So far she had to change his bandages more than a few times and helping him from his chair to the toilet _was_ embarrassing. But when the Sanin said it was bath time, Sakura had no choice but to argue!

With a Sanin…

Yeah, not as hard as she thought it would be before she realized that all the stops they had been making were so he could visit brothels and peep on hotsprings in each village.

The fact that he did so revolted her. And she had been forced to hunt him down and drag him out of each town they stopped at. The sheer disgust swelling up in her easily drowned any respect she'd had for him. And then she found out that he was the scum that wrote her sensei's orange books.

Yes she had been required to bath many of her patients when she worked for Kenko-sensei but most of them were old, and _none_ of them were her teammate! And when she was doing it in the hospital she didn't have to hear the perverse old goat giggling as he took notes for his next smut filled publication.

Their argument over bathing him eventually got them kicked out of the inn they were staying at. And in the end, they made a fast track for the medical Sanin and she was resigned to bathing the baka.

Dear kami, was she glad Naruto forgot everything about her. _Inner-Sakura_ was also beginning to hint at her that the Hyuuga girl had been more perverse than anyone realized.

Her extra developed Ide continued to remind her that her teammate was handsomely endowed. More so than any child their age should be, than even a few of the _adults_ she had seen.

And the pinkette had to admit, it certainly _did_ explain why the girl who could _see through clothes_ always **blushed** when he came near… a dirty little secret that Sakura was going to take to the **_grave._**

Hearing Naruto bigan to squirm in his bed, the beginner medic shuffled out of her own to help him to the restroom. The Sanin had told them this was the village that Tsunade would be in. If they didn't find the woman today, Sakura was going to _stab_ the bastard pervert.

0o0o0

Sitting down across from the buxom goddess of his fantasies, the Sennin had no intentions of being serious, but the kunai wound on his arm reminded him of what happened the previous night when he'd come back to their hotel drunk, and worse in the girl's opinion, alone.

He hadn't been planning on finding her this soon. Sure he probably could have gotten to her in only one or two days if he was urgently trying. But if he was, he wouldn't have been bringing a Genin with him. Certainly not one that practically forbade him from so much as _looking_ at a women until they found their target.

Letting his immature habits drop the war hero and veteran put on his game face. "Tsunade I'm not here to goof off or get in your way. I have a valid and serious favor I need to ask from you."

His teammate hadn't bolted yet, that was a good sign.

The Senju squinted her eyes at him and then downed her sake dish. It seemed he had thought too soon. A loop of wire extended from his fingers to her wrist as she tried to jump from the table. She could have snapped it, however that fact that he would go this far mean something to her. So staring at her wrist the kunoichi sat.

"What could be so important that you would cut straight through all the flirting?" The suspicion in her voice carried an undertone of threatening intent if she didn't like his answer.

She had probably guessed why he was supposed to be here. So to keep her from simply rejecting anything he needed from her he started with the least offensive.

"I need medical help. And you're the best option."

Her eyes shot open at that. He knew she wouldn't have expected it. Especially when he worded it so well.

Her eyes narrowed once more as she began to contemplate what all he might mean by 'medical help'.

"Look, I'm sure you heard about the attack in the village right?" It was a tricky line he was walking, if she thought he wanted her to come back for any reason she might lose interest.

"Well, I recently took on an apprentice who was injured in the battle. He fought off _Orochimaru_ long enough for sensei to finish a jutsu which could kill him."

Tsunade nodded at him to continue.

That _got her._ She was hooked. Now she would have to atleast _look_ at the boy who could hold off their teammate for no other reason than to sate her own curiosity .

Explaining that the boy needed to be pushed around in a wheelchair to get him there, and that he had left him with his nurse in their hotel, the spymaster of the leaf easily convinced his crush to come back to the room with him.

The woman gathered her own apprentice and pet, marching out of the bar right behind him.

0o0o0

Sakura had only finished giving Naruto his bath, and was drying him off when the door to their room burst open.

She hadn't felt the need to be awkward about it, so she had poked him with a topographical sedative. When she was 'changing his bandages.' The chemical worked like a charm. He was out in minutes.

Bathing him was less than appealing, but not as embarrassing when he wasn't awake for it.

The Legendary Shinobi walked in unaffected by his naked state. The pervert stood of to one side as his teammate made a beeline for her's. "Sakura, I presume?"

"Hai, mistress Tsunade, I am Naruto's attending, at your service." She quickly backed away and gave a polite bow.

Tsunade placed her hand on his chest and pulled him upright with her chakra. The blushing woman behind her immediately rushed forward to hold him as the Sanin placed her palms on his back. Her chakra extending inwards as she performed the medical scan. Obviously she found something, her reaction to it was slightly shocked.

"Does anybody want to tell me how such weird injuries could happen? And how the hell they were healed?"

The Sanin's hands dropped to her hips as she rounded her glare on her teammate.

"Well hime, I'll have to tell you about the healing later, I wasn't really there for much, and Sakura here has the full story on how the injuries happened."

 _Thanks alot old pervert, send that glare at_ _ **me**_ _why don't you!_ Sakura actually couldn't tell if that was her thought or _Inner-her_ 's thought. They agreed so deeply in their despise of the toad slime.

The medic had a hard time believing all of the damage he'd suffered had happened only as long ago as the invasion. It had healed at an impossible rate, the fact that it had healed at all was impossible.

And once the bodily injuries were explained, she told the elder wemon about the mental one.

From what she could figure out from his medical chart and such, Naruto had used shadow clone far too much, The charts said cause of mental damage was possibly shadow feedback overload. Besides that, Sakura could still clearly see in her head, the thousands of clones that he had summoned in the battle with the Sand demon. But even so, there had been a abnormal gap between the destruction of the clones and his neural rupture.

"Shizune, finish what the girl was doing and wait for him to wake up. I'm going to get a drink."

With that the blonde stood and grabbed her teammate, pulling him out of the room. "We need to talk, Ero-baka!"

With them gone the other woman, Shizune introduced herself, and began the awkward stage of smalltalk.

"So how long have you been a medic, Sakura-chan?"

"For almost three weeks, I only began training in the field when Eroji-sama first decided to bring Naruto to Tsunade."

"That's impressive, from your appearance, the way you spoke and handling your patient, I would have thought you'd have been training a lot longer than that. Your sensei must have pushed you hard to get you this far."

The elder woman had no idea…

"Kenko-sensei only got to train me for nine days, the first seven were hell… But the next day she said I was ready to learn the chakra scanning technique. This was considered a priority mission because the Sanin requested it, so the entire council endorsed and signed off on getting me trained as quickly as possible."

As they chatted, Shizune explained that she had been studying under Tsunade for years. So they began to exchange what they had learned. This mostly consisted of Sakura asking her questions and her explaining how she found the answers when she was traveling with her master.

As their conversation continued Sakura's mind wandered to her Uchiha prince. He had definitely reacted to her progress, and to her new outfit if the way he had checked her out meant anything.

She was already getting him back, and she had only been a medic for a week at that point. What if she could convince the _Sanin_ woman to take her as an apprentice too!? If she received training from a legend like Tsunade, then with her natural progress she would be a Chunin, no a _Jonin_ in no time!

Sasuke would have to acknowledge her then!

0o0o0

"Soooo Tsu-hime, do you think you can help me out?"

She couldn't believe that baka had the gall to act impatient with her.

Finding the nearest bar she order a full bottle of their hardest drink. When the server brought the serving dishes she simply yanked the bottle out of his hand and glared. He got the hint.

"Look hime, I know this is short notice and out of the blue, but the kid has enemies. I'm sure you felt it. The chakra inside him. The seal only holds it back when needed, it was designed to let the beast heal him somewhat, and with the damage the boy took, the fox has more chakra in him than he does... and worse..."

The man looked at her as if she cared whether the monster took over his brat.

"There is a group after him, the Akatsuki. Now that he has lost his memories, he doesn't know how to fight back, his injuries make him a sitting duck, and all of the fox's chakra running through him paints a pretty bright target on his back for anyone who knows how to look for it."

Her teammate dropped his head into his hands and exhaled loudly.

"They already made their move. Uchiha Itachi and his partner attacked the village a few days ago. I found out yesterday that they were seen in the village I just passed through on my way here. I spent all day setting up sentries and alert seals so they couldn't sneak up."

Reaching into his vest the Sanin pulled out a picture of the two missing-nin seen through a crowd. One was the infamous Uchiha, cloaked in black with red clouds, the other was turned to face his partner, however the skin on the visible portion of his face was blue.

She easily recognized Hoshigaki Kisame.

Not from his blue skin but instead from the sword on his back, the scales that poked out of its wrap had done unique damage to more than a few of their medical jobs which Shizune had been forced to handle for her.

"So they were after the boy were they?"

Finishing her bottle the Sanin chucked it at the wall and vacated her seat. She might as well get the healing over with.

If only He didn't remind her of _him_. The damn blonde hair.

When she arrived the boy was awake. His hyper and naive face lit up when he saw her. That was _two_ people he reminded her of.

His resembleance to _him_ , was one thing. But _that_ was the same face her _brother_ used to make.

"Gaki, i'm Tsunade. I'm the best medic in the world and I'll be treating you for now."

His face calmed slightly as he replied. "Well I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I have lost my memories and been crippled but I'm _Still_ going to become hokage! Believe it!"

And that made _three._ Tsunade's heart felt like it would burst! It was a _cruel_ trick of fate that forced her to treat a boy so much like her three lost loved ones.

He was as childish as her little brother, and that determination was just like Dan… It was worse that he was the chibi version of _Him._

The disaster at Shimaza no gai played out in her head once more. She'd wiped them out. In her rage at _his_ death.

After sending the girl out with her apprentice, the medic had Jiraiya suppress the seal. This would prevent the fox's chakra from fighting hers as she healed the boy.

Placing her hands on his back once more the Sanin echoed her chakra through his system. She began correcting the many issues still predominant throughout his body. Finally when most of the physical injuries had been sorted out, she turned her chakra to his brain.

He would heal just fine, and in the next week or so he should be back to normal based on his current healing rate. However the wounds were not the cause of his memory loss.

Inside the mindscape Tsunade opened her eyes.

It took years of dedicated study of the mind before medical jutsu allowed one to enter their patients mindscape. Unlike the Yamanaka clan jutsu which facilitated direct access, medical ninjutsu required one to synchronize their chakra and brain patterns to enter.

It wasn't really that hard to do, however it also wasn't taught either. If one were to teach it, then their students could probably get it down after a year or so of being a competent full Iryonin

Gazing at the formation of Red chakra that had gathered as she worked her way through Naruto's system the senju gave a push, willing the demonic bubbles back into the seal.

" **Wait, Senju woman!"** Came the voice of her opponent.

"So you're the one who has been blocking Naruto from his memories aren't you?" She asked, knowing fully that it was so.

" **Please Senju, you must listen! The girl! She—"** The beast's voice cut off as his chakra as jerked backwards. The gathered chakra began to drain into to the seal sucked in as he struggled to remain. The claws of bubbling chakra barely holding him outside the seal.

With a last effort from the giant mass of diminishing chakra, the fox called out to her.

" **Wait! Before the seal pulls me back, you need to know!... Protect him, she's not what she looks, the pink girl... she'll hurt Naruto again, you must—"**

Its words finally went silent as the seal swallowed it and went dark. As Tsunade withdrew, the mindscape exploded in memories that had been suppressed by its presence.

0o0o0

Getting a good look at the woman who had healed him, Naruto felt his mind yank at him, it felt as if his brain was being wrung out like a wet rag.

He knew he had never seen her in the village before, she looked like the old bag they had talked about at the academy but she wouldn't still be this young would she?

In his head he could see the picture of her in the text book. And he could also see her standing in front of him, a _baby_ in her arms. Words echoing in his ears.

"I can't! He can't be _mine!_ They'll hunt him down his entire life! _Please_ sensei!" As Naruto remembered they were in the middle of a war. It was the right thing to do, However...

"You must tell Jiraiya! you can't just hide the fact that he has a son!"

Looking at the girl, He couldn't deny her the chance to keep her child safe, not after the way her little brother had died.

)-(

Having hidden the boy, Naruto could remember watching little Minato grow. The heart broken Toad summoner had received word that his student's from Ame had died, And he practically had to force Jiraiya to take the team the kid was on.

Shortly after that a new war began, and Tsunade's current lover died. She had agreed to leave Minato with Jiraiya, but she was going. And He couldn't force himself to stop her.

)-(

It was time for him to retire, And he truly did think Orochimaru would make a fine Hokage, However... Young Minato had began petitioning for the position as well, and wouldn't that make Jiraiya so proud!? He _was_ a good candidate on his own besides who his father was.

Seeing his student's face light up he named the man's own student the next Hokage greatly lighted his _guilt_ for hiding the man's son _under his nose_ all these years.

)-(

He was a fine Hokage, Minato. But as the old man looked at the pregnant red head he felt another stab of guilt. He wouldn't keep the boy from his father any longer. And so he told him. And the boy admitted he had suspected. He told him that he had thought about naming his son after his sensei's book. And this, had convinced him that it was the right name.

)-(

The fox had done its damage. The village was in turmoil and the fourth Hokage was dead. His son, Naruto was without parents. The third knew that Minato had been waiting to tell his father about their true relation until after the boy was born.

Now though, he would never get the chance. Jiraiya wanted to tell Tsunade who the boy was. That his student had created a child. He was convinced she had healed from her loss of Dan and would return to become Hokage if they asked her to. The Sanin was certian that if she were Hokage she would take care of Naruto, ensure that Minato's son wasn't hurt.

His student pleaded and begged.

But he was wrong.

Tsunade _had_ been ready to comeback, but when she found out that her _son_ was _dead_ , she would be broken _worse_ than ever _before!_ And if she found out she would declare war on him, and steal the boy away. Naruto would _never_ see the village _again!_

He forbade the toad summoner from ever mentioning Naruto's parents to _anyone_ until he gave him expressed permission.

)-(

He had never been so _proud_ of Naruto! He did his father and mother proud, if only his grandparents could know, and be there for him.

As he watched in his crystal ball, Naruto had defeated the traitor and saved his sensei. Iruka was right to promote him.

Now there was someone else who had a right to be with him. Kakashi would enjoy getting to be near him without the Anbu mask, and His grand father had been kept from him long enough. It was time to call the man home.

0o0o0

Uzumaki Naruto couldn't understand anything at all for the next few moments. Everyone around him panicked when he collapsed.

Opening his eyes, the boy looked up at his grandmother... in an instant he realized what he had just thought. She was his **_grandmother!_**

The tears came on their own as he embraced her. Weeping with confusion and joy. "Grandma, I'm so sorry I never told you"

* * *

 _~ Note_ ~

Okay, so we have the big reveal. First, Naruto's memories were held off by the Kyuubi! And second, Tsunade is Minato's mom! and Minato is Naruto's dad! That makes Tsunade Naruto's Grandmother! ...Also Jiraiya is Naruto's grandfather... If any one cares.

 _Tsunade doesn't know Minato had a son, and Jiraiya doesn't know that Minato was his son. Because of that neither of them knew they were grandparents._

After Nawaki died, Tsunade, looking for comfort, gave in to Jiraiya's advances. She got knocked up. There was a war going on and so she gave the baby to the 3rd to hide, telling him not to tell Jiraiya.

Nawaki died about the right time for Minato to have been conceived, remember also that Jiraiya trained Nagato before he took his first team, so Minato could have been born while he was in rain and he would have never found out!

Then the third in his guilt, forces Jiraiya to take Minato's team as he is grieving for the lost Ame kids he had trained, and thus ensured that the Sanin received SOME time with his child.

Later she meets Dan and thought she could be happy, then he died, and she left. By that time Minato was already on Jiraiya's team. And She agreed with the Hokage that she should let them have their time together.

Who Minato's father was played a major part in the 3rd choosing him over his prized FAVORITE student. Because he WAS completely blind to Orochimaru's actions.

And when the third finds out the Kushina is pregnant he decided to tell Minato who his father is, prompting him to name his son after the main character in his father's book. The kyuubi attacks before Minato gets the courage to tell his father what the 3rd had told him

When he died, the Sandaime knew she would be heart broken far worse, and feared she would try to steal her grandson from the village, him being a jinchuuriki, that couldn't be allowed so having not told Jiraiya about his & Tsunade's part in Minato's creation, he forbid him from telling Tsunade who Naruto's parents were.

When he stupidly allows Naruto's burden to become public Jiraiya tries to take the kid anyway and so the 3rd forbids him from having any contact at all. This is lifted when Naruto finally makes Genin.

 ** _All of this is the thirds fault, just like his decision to let Orochimaru escape._**

The focus on Sakura… Well I am setting up for the spin off if it happens. And if not, it still helps to explain a few things.

 _Inner-Sakura:_ Yeah, that's a good explanation of what she actually is. The Id, the ego, and the superego are the three parts of a personality… well the role of the superego will be played by the Ide. Because ninja's don't have freud or his research.

Ino's work, not that hard to simply create relations from one memory to the next in a _willing host_. Basic Yamanaka jutsu.

The medical expo: Vaanarash has posted four questions on his profile. Sometime in this story I will attempt to answer at least three of them.

1.) Whatever happened to the Senju Clan? How did the clan that was seen as one of the two strongest clans, with only the Uchiha as their rivals, die out while their rivals lived on? It can't be just that the Sharingan let them persevere where the Senju died because the Senju rivaled the Uchiha on their own, with no bloodlines. So what happened there?

2.) Speaking of clans, anyone else notice that despite Konoha and Uzushio being such close friends, all of the refugees seemed to have gone anywhere but Konoha? Nagato and his family went to Ame, Karin and her family apparently went to Kusa, but no one went to their "great friends" Konoha. Yeah, that's not suspicious at all.

3.) How the hell does medical chakra/jutsu work? It always sounds like they are used to speed up/completely heal someone, yet ninety percent of the time we see its effects in canon, the person still ends up with bandages on them. A prime example is Naruto being wrapped up like a mummy after the Sasuke Retrieval arc.

Things Naruto _Still_ won't remember:

The End of the two battles he was just in.

The Uchiha Plot,

 _ **Anything**_ concerning Sakura from  before the Kyuubi was suppressed.

The private times between the third and his wife,

The worst and bloodiest scenes in the war,

And anything before the third made Chunin, because that was just too long ago. Naruto won't even be able to remember the actual promotion, he just knows that all his memories are from Chunin and up.

It will be a few chapters before I reach the part where " _Tenten's Ulterior Motive Challenge_ " comes in.

* * *

 _ **~ Poll ~**_

 _Wisdom of Chance: An Evil or A Romance?_

 _I have decided that my story can go one of only THESE two ways._

 _An Evil Awakens:_ _In which Sakura will Become a Badass Villain with a split personality and takes Sasuke's place at Orochimaru's side. Meaning HE stays in the village. If Evil, the ENTIRE Plot-line of Naruto could be changed. [I already have most of this plot, plotted] (As in Sakura Picks off the Akatsuki herself. And becomes an even greater threat than all of them combined)_

 _Or_

 _A romance;_ _If Good, Sakura can become Jealous of Naruto's new romances and eventually fade out with only minor bashing at most. And I can give a higher focus to the romantic side of the story than the plotline._

 _I can do one or the other, or BOTH. Thank you for voting. The_ _ **Poll**_ _is located on my profile._

 _Poll ends in ten weeks, when my next chapter comes out._

* * *

Most items in all my Naruto fan-fictions will be based off of T8: Retroversion's timeline. Many of these details will be universal across them all.

Meaning any mission or OC, or other major details will be included, based on their background and trigger events.

{This will not include Kurenai's conspiracy or Hinata's abuse}

* * *

While T8: Retroversion will be my main Fic, Five others are on my list to work on at the moment: LATE Naruto: Life After the Ends; Uzumaki: A Lone Fox; The Thousand Ninja; Village Hidden in Plain Sight; and Wisdom of Chance. **Descriptions on profile**.


	4. A Question,An Answer,& A New Beginning

Wisdom of Chance, Chapter four: It Begins.

* * *

 **A Question, An Answer, and A New Beginning**

 _For the Sake of Secrets_

* * *

 _~ Forenote ~_

The poll has ended. The votes were 31 to 23 against the spin off. I'm posting it in a separate story anyway. The Pilot chapter of Wisdom of Chance: An Evil Awakens will post a shortly after this chapter.

* * *

" _Grandma, I'm soo sorry I never told you!_ "

For a moment Tsunade could only look at him as if he had crapped his pants.

"I'm sorry?" She asked as her calm, dignified expression, slowly morphed into one of beat-red _rage!_ " _ **What**_ _did you just call me brat!"_

She took hold of his medical gown and drew him into the air, stopping herself from pummeling him because the expression on his face was one of guilt and sorrow, not of fear or defiance. "I'm sorry I never told you that Minato had _a son_."

The gaki dropped, landing on his back, as her hand opened in shock. Her eyes widened open and she couldn't breath. The Sannin simply stood where she was, her arms still outstretched as if she still held him. "A son? Mina-chan?"

Her chest finally accepted air and began to heave as her mind panicked. How did this _kid_ know anything about that man!? _Could he_ have actually _had_ a son!? And more importantly, how did the boy know Minato was **her** _son!_

" _Tsu-hime?_ **What** is he talking about?" The fact that Naruto had somehow found out about his parents was one thing, but that the boy thought being Minato's kid meant he was Tsunade's grandson was completely unexpected.

Almost as if his voice broke a trance, the medic began moving again. "I have to check something, I'll talk to you in a minute."

She yanked the crippled child up onto the bed once more and put not only her hands on his head, but this time, her forehead too.

Pulling at his mental network, she tried to isolate any foreign mental signatures. It took a moment before she found what she was looking for, but the neural shadow moved away from her.

It was unlike any she had ever seen. Memories couldn't just up and move on their own! The best comparison she had to this was an anti-Yamanaka jutsu developed by sensei. But this one was far past his theories…

 _Unless_ the bijuu had been the one to cast it. That would explain its mutation into autonomous activation…

But _why_ would the _**Kyuubi**_ be afraid of a Yamanaka jutsu? The entire clan knew not to enter the boy's mind. And those too young to know _why_ had been told of extreme consequences if they ever did. And _how the hell_ did the fox even know sensei's technique anyway?

 _ **Pink.**_

The fox had been telling her something about _pink_ …

Refocusing her mind, Tsunade used the mental image of her sensei and a call of truce to summon the neural shadow. She only needed to glimpse a small passage of the mental network to recognise the third Hokage's mind.

At first she had thought the brain damage had simply been result of the thousand clones the boy had created, and that healing it would have simply wiped the strain away. However, it seemed Naruto received _**all**_ _of the memories of the_ _ **shadow Hokage clones!**_

Which meant, he knew _**everything…**_

Tsunade couldn't let _him_ find out like this… She had to at least explain to the man standing behind her.

Turning from the boy, Tsunade asked, "Jiraiya… Who is Naruto's father again?"

With a swallow, the toad sage answered. And Tsunade felt her heart break. She had a grandson! All this time, she had been abandoning him! It was one thing with Mina. He had his sensei!

Placing Naruto under a minor forced sleep genjutsu, Tsunade laid him back in the bed. "He used his own son… _ **Baka!"**_

"Tsu-hime…" The toad's voice was now becoming threatening. "What did he _mean_ when he called you _grandma?_ He _wasn't_ just making fun of your age!"

Without meeting his eyes she replied. "We need to talk. Until we figure out what to do, he should be kept sedated."

0o0o0

As they headed out from the hotel her apprentice and the pinkette rushed up to her. "Tsunade-sama, Sakura here, has something she would like to ask, and I would like to support her request."

The girl placed her hands together and bowed deeply. One of her arms was bandaged and the other bare, she wore her outfit exactly as Tsunade had recommended for the medical ninja in battle. It seemed to have made a trend. Her neatly trimmed hair was bright pink and held back by her Hitai-ate.

Young Sakura politely made a proper request of apprenticeship. But the only thing the medical Sannin heard was a massive gravelly voice, shouting warning to the Senju.

And her mind made the connection. _Pink...The girl's hair...Anti-Yamanaka technique..._

She didn't _intend_ for the venom and contempt that bleed through her voice. "I don't know _why_ Naruto forcibly forgot about _you specifically,_ but I _will_ find out! And _when I do,_ **I** will be the one to decide your fate! For now, you can stay out of the way and _**away**_ _from the_ _ **patient**_ **!** "

Leveling a look at her apprentice, Tsunade ensured she understood. The cheer in the woman's eyes quickly turned to wrath as the small genjutsu passed between the two.

She understood everything it carried. Naruto was the host of the nine, hunted by the Uchiha clan-killer and threatened by a pink girl with a Yamanaka jutsu.

As the two young women returned to the room, Sakura tried to offer her help. She needed to know what Naruto had said! If Tsunade knew what she had tried to do, then it was too late to use _that._

"I'm sorry Sakura, however I cannot allow you near the patient."

The cold voice of the woman before her was nothing like the friend she'd been only a minute ago. Her eyes were filled with anger. Sakura couldn't understand it! _Why!_ Why was she being so hostile!

0o0o0

"Minato…" Jiraiya began. The two Sannin had gotten a private booth in a karaoke bar. They were meant to be sound proof already, however the seal master didn't take any chances.

The moment they arrived he pulled out several tags and placed them around the room.

"He couldn't let the beast get loose. Even _if_ Kushina pulled it back into herself, she would have _died_ shortly after. Her seal wasn't like Naruto's, the fox would have simply reformed in a matter of months. _Maybe_ a year or so."

Sitting on the other side of the small table, he picked up his glass and downed the contents.

"I don't know the details, but from the description of the battle, he must have cut the beast in half and only sealed half of it into the host. The other half he pulled inside himself."

"The few who witnessed it and heard their discussion, say that he used her soul too. They wanted to meet their _son_ when he grew up. The only way they could see him was if he were the host. Besides, you've _met_ Minato, back when he was on my squad."

"He could never have simply sacrificed his _son._ He made sure the boy would be protected. He named me the godfather for one, and I was there for him for the first couple of years, until the old man sent me away…"

The look of guilt on his face told Tsunade all she needed to know about how Naruto had been treated since then.

"We couldn't tell people who he actually was. If Iwa found out they would have renewed their war efforts, and it would have been an easy guess for anyone, who met the Minato even in the battlefield, to decide the Hokage used his own son."

Tsunade could admit that it would have been easy, those birthmarks on his cheeks didn't make it any harder.

"So we passed a fake off as Kushina's kid, and said we were giving an orphan her name so it wouldn't die out."

"It didn't seem to work. Too many people knew about his situation and even after the Hokage passed the law forbidding anyone from sharing that knowledge they still did. In whispers they told it to their friends and they told their _kids_ to stay away from the ' _demon child'_ calling him a bad omen or just dangerous. The kids isolated him and he acted out. It became a cycle."

Her teammate sat silently looking over her face, searching for her reaction. But all she could feel was betrayal. Not from him… Jiraiya had been a wonderful sensei for her son, and he had no choice in the five year banishment the Sandaime had imposed. It was time to confess her own transgressions.

"Shimaza no Gai."

Those words hardened the Sannin's face as he recalled what she'd done. On the one hand it had been a massive deterrent to war with Iwa… On the other, she hadn't stopped at just the shinobi, almost every single person, man, woman or even _child_ , had died.

"If I tell you everything you must swear not to react to it until we are safely back in the leaf." Ignoring the mild shock melting through his hardened expression, Tsunade pleaded. "Once we are in the Senju dojo, I will submit to any retribution you wish. But I can't expect you to react any better than I could."

" _You have my word._ What happened in _Shimaza?_ " His voice was just as hard as his face, but it also had a small waiver in it. He already guessed what she was going to tell him.

"I found out my son died fighting the Kyuubi." A swallow in his throat and wrath appeared on his face.

"Shortly after Nawaki died, A couple months before we face Hanzo—"

" _I remember._ " He cut her off.

"You were in Ame for almost a year, the second war had just ended and I couldn't bear the thought of my son being hunted down for being related to me. I thought of telling you so many times, you two were so happy as a team, and when Dan died… I couldn't take him away from his father so I left without him."

"And some Iwa-nin laughs about his death in Shimaza and you lose it," the toad sage finished for her. "I begged, _I got down on my knees_ and _**begged**_ Hiruzen to bring you back! No _wonder_ he refused!"

The Sannin stood and turned away from her. "Did Dan know?" He didn't even try to muffle the hatred in his voice. "Or did you _**lie**_ to _him_ too!

"He knew. He accepted it for what it was."

"You're going to come home." There were no options in his tone, she had no choice in the matter.

"You're going to accept Sensei's _hat_." There was little she could say to argue. Even if she wanted to refuse, if she had the courage to risk his rage, she could never abandon her grandson the way she had her son.

"You're going to tell _him_ exactly who we are! And why **you** denied him _his family!"_ The guilt and rage in his voice had leaked through as his voice cracked.

With a wavering voice, she conceded his commands.

0o0o0

Sakura waited in the lounge of the hotel. Shizune had been so cold to her!

It isn't _fair!_ Screamed _Inner-Sakura._ All she did, was try to protect the boy she loved! But even with no memories or mobility Naruto _still_ found a way to ruin her _life!_

To be fair, the girl thought to herself, he didn't mean to mess me up. I _am_ the one who tried to abandon him.

Still her inner was upset. The Sannin had said no! Because she _did_ something to him? And if she found out that Sakura actually _had_ tried to leave him for dead, and had been the _cause_ of his memory issue, then she would never change her mind.

Frustrated at this, Sakura had her inner spat.

How was she supposed to get Sasuke to love her, if no one will train her? Not their sensei, Not her parents, she couldn't even get a lesson from a drunken medic!

 _Inner-Sakura_ was just as adamant about it. She had been right when she told Sakura to take _that!_

She knew what she had to do. Taking out the scroll she had copied from the one in her friend's hiding-space, she quickly went over it. The actual Yamanaka jutsu. It would help her force him to forget what she had done.

According to the scroll, their jutsu didn't _always_ require the bloodline ability of parting their souls, to be performed. This was the part that had convinced Sakura to make her copy.

All the beginners of their clan needed skin contact with the head of the mind they were entering to do the jutsu. This way their soul didn't have to leave their body. Meaning _anyone_ could do it as long as they had skin contact with the target's head.

Since she wasn't a Yamanaka she wasn't sure if she would even survive it if her soul did leave her body. But She didn't have to risk it.

A small extra ingredient she had already prepared, discreetly dropped in the woman's food gave her the opportunity she needed. Once Shizune needed to use the toilet, she moved. Slipping in, so she didn't disturb anything. She still had her key to the room, so she was in without incident.

Stepping over to the bed she placed her hands on either side of the unconscious boy's head and prepared herself for the jutsu. The snoring pig sleeping next to him shifted slightly but didn't wake.

Just as she was about to activate it, his eyes opened. The blue orbs of pure innocence stared at her guilt. "Hello, Who are you?"

"I'm your nurse…" The question was a godsend! Thank all fortune! "Don't you remember me?"

"No… I should though, I seem to remember everybody else. Even all Jiji's friends it seems."

The pinkette didn't have time to figure out what he meant by that, so checking his eyes and vitals, she quickly dismissed herself.

She hadn't even been in the room for a whole minute, so she easily passed to the lounge before the Sannin's food poisoned apprentice came out.

 _Inner-Sakura_ wasn't satisfied with their exit. _They should have made sure!_ But Sakura herself, simply didn't want to think about what she had been willing to do.

0o0o0

The next morning had two Sannin leaving the hotel behind. Tsunade had drank all night. Only coming back that morning, when the hermit actually drug her by one of her hair tails.

Before they could return home, Tsunade had to pay off her debt. A small loan of cash from the author of a popular book series provided the capital. They would return in a couple hours. For now though, the other four locked down their room. Shizune finally agreed to be somewhat civil, and Sakura had been allowed back into the room.

A cheerful Naruto was a welcome sight. He still didn't remember her, but at least he was back to normal. The older medic analyzed their interactions closely and soon began relaxing a little. Sakura began asking the boy about his memories and he replied with joy.

He remembered the instructions that the pervy-Senin had given him. No mention of the secret memories! So he told her about his time in the academy of all the people he had known. Hhe mentioned how what he learned there differed from what he had learned from Shika-kun. All of his friends had been there for him and he was almost overwhelmed by it.

The boy had mumbled something about sensei's intestines and hinata, but Sakura had already began tuning him out by that time.

The day was uneventful and quiet until the two elders returned.

Something was wrong when they arrived. Their exit from the village was swift and silent. But they were on their way back to the leaf long before whoever was looking for them knew they'd left.

0o0o0

He had a grandmother! And a grandfather!

The Chunin could hardly contain his joy at this revelation. As he walked alongside his sensei he briefly stopped dwelling on his _extra_ memories and family members to simply enjoy the use of his legs. Naruto was more than happy about that!

He couldn't stop thinking about them for long, the two adults seemed to hate each other…

Ero-jisan would sometimes look almost as if he was going to strangle Tsunade-baachan. His grandmother on the other hand, was drunk. If not for Shizune-nee, she wouldn't have been able to move from the hotels they slept in on their way back.

Neither of them would speak to him about it, and he was still under orders not to tell anyone about his memoires. Which Naruto guessed meant he wasn't allowed to call them his grandparents at the moment either. That memory wasn't the only one he'd had.

Naruto could remember so many small details of the past. A past that he had no part in. He hadn't even been _born_ for most of it. He couldn't even make sense of it. All the _other_ memories were jumbled and confused almost as if they were little tiny bits of ramen floating in the broth, and every time he tried to grab at one, it would be carried away.

Then there were the times when he would see something or someone, and just like with his grandparents, a memory would _**slam**_ into him and he would re _live_ the events. Sakura actually laughed one time he did it. He had just taken a bite of his lunch, and the face he made at the vendor when the taste reminded him of Biwako's cooking, sent the pinkette into a giggle fit.

Thinking of the woman who had died even before he was born, Naruto was reminded of another love… The Hyuuga. Hinata was in love with him. At the time she told him, Naruto had no idea what love was. Even before that, he thought it was just another word for liking things.

Kakashi was going to suffer for his trick! Granted, Naruto wasn't even sure he was right about this, but the man had been manipulating him! If not for the memoires of Biwako, Naruto never would have understood just what Kakashi had been hinting at. And if not for the thoughts he put into Hinata's confession Naruto never would have realized that the Jonin was using tiny little hints in every other thing he said to point Naruto in the girl's direction.

Still, even Sasuke had been trying to do the same. The Sandaime had few memories of Hinata, outside of her grandfather Hizami and the tragedy with Kumo. The only Hyuuga the old man dealt with regularly was Hiashi.

Hizami would have to be dealt with. Naruto was appalled when his thoughts about Hinata and Neji pulled up the eldest Hyuuga's actions. He had been the one who decided Neji's dad would die. He had placed Hinata's dad in servitude by threatening to use that bastard cage seal thingy on Hinata's little sister.

The Hokage had only so many memories of the clan. But Naruto seemed to have passed through the most outstanding of them.

Outside of those, Naruto hadn't really found any memories of anyone he knew. Not that he hadn't tried, but he couldn't simply pull the memories out at will. Still, as each day passed a few more began to settle so he could see them.

Many of them had been useless tiny details of days long past. However every now and then he would remember a council meeting or an edict being written. The moment he remembered one of these, he would be pulled aside and he would walk with Baa-chan as the others moved out of hearing range. They had a few long talks about the laws Jiji had passed.

One of them had even been about him. Apparently when he joined the academy the village council was afraid he would go rogue so the old man had created an addendum to his law about not telling anyone he was the host of the nine tails. In exchange for letting him join the academy, the council had the right to repeal the law if he ever presented as a threat to the safety of the village.

Until he remembered _that_ , Naruto had no idea just how _hard_ the old man had to work to get him in the academy…

Then he felt guilt.

Not even the old man's anymore. Naruto was crushed by the fact that the Sandaime had died. And at the time, he hadn't even cared! He had been in the hospital, completely okay with the fact that his only family had died!

The man had been there for him his entire life! And he hadn't even said a prayer for him!

His grandmother held him as he finally began to grieve the loss of the man who had supported him from the start. And when he was cried out, she began to ask him for more dirt on the village.

0o0o0

It looked like half the village was gathered at the gates when they returned home. So many of them had heard who was being brought back. Sakura had only just found out on the return trip that Tsunade was going to become the next Hokage.

There was something going on that she couldn't figure out. And Naruto-baka was at the heart of it. Not that she really needed to know. She was content to simply fade away from the drunken woman's wrath altogether. She just had to find another way into the Uchiha's heart.

Heading through the crowd the Genin fled in the direction of the flower shop where she knew, Ino would be waiting to hear about her trip. In total it had taken a little more than three weeks and Sakura was almost as interested in hearing the gossip going around the village since she left.

To her surprise, she met Sasuke on the way over. "Sakura, glad you're back!"

To hear those words from him in real life! Sakura stumbled and ever so gracefully landed on her face. Pulling herself of the ground she shamefully looked up. Her teammate was offering her a hand up! Taking his hand she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"How is Naruto!? Sensei was attacked!"

The question and statement both caught her off guard. "Oh kami! Is sensei okay? Who attacked him?" Seeing the Uchiha's expectant look the kunoichi added "Baka's fine, he remembers all the important stuff, but he doesn't seem to remember how he was hurt or why the hell he had a crush on me in the academy… So I would like to think he's doing better than ever."

"It was a group called the Akatsuki. They collect the bounties of powerful shinobi. Apparently they thought they could collect sensei's. My brother was one of them."

"Sensei won't wake up, I heard that Tsunade of the Sannin came back with you guys. Do you think she'd be willing to look at him?"

Okay… _Inner-Sakura_ was ecstatic that Sasuke was so engaged with her right now, but Sakura herself couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going on. Sasuke's brother was with the group that attacked and he didn't freak out?

"Are you going to be okay? Did you see _him_?"

"I'm fine, I wasn't anywhere near the battle. I only found out when sensei didn't show up for training. The nurse there had specific orders to only allow a few people in his room so I don't know how he's doing."

The had finally made it to the flower shop when Sakura realized that he had been walking ahead of her and she was simply following him… So did that mean that Sasuke was here for flowers for sensei?

"Sasuke-Kuuuuun!" the soft cooing in Ino's voice was nothing like how she normally greeted the Uchiha!

"Ino, I'm back!" Sakura felt a deep fear gripping her chest.

"Hey Sakura! How was the trip?" Ino rushed over and launched herself into a full body hug of Sakura.

What the hell! When was Ino so close to her? _Inner-Sakura_ whispered foreboding in her ear as she contemplated the possible causes of the situation.

Backing up Ino looked at her guiltily. Pulling Sakura into the house, they left Sasuke waiting outside.

"Sakura, please don't get upset. I need to tell you something you might not want to hear…"

Sakura knew what was coming next! Sasuke had chosen her!

"I spilled my guts about your nightmares! I'm soo sorry but I had to. He was freaking out and I needed to do something!"

Abruptly Sakura's mind came short. "You did _**what!?**_ "

"I told him about the nightmares you've been having about Naruto getting hurt. He's your teammate, he should have known that you were upset about it, and I didn't know you were keeping it from him."

That was _not_ what she had been worried about! But it actually might have worked in her favor. If Sasuke thought that she had simply been too horrified of what had happened he might not have told sensei!

Then her mind processed the rest. He had been freaking out… She had to _do_ something.

What _had_ Ino done!?

"It's fine, I wasn't hiding it, I just didn't get to see him much because of the medical training. How bad was he freaking out?"

"Well I was going to visit Lee when I heard him screaming at one of the nurses for information over what happened. Your sensei was hurt badly in the fight, but it seems he was able to hurt Itachi worse. The other guy had to carry Itachi out of the village. The council announced that Tsunade was coming back to help with the wounded the next day."

The revelation shocked Sakura. _Wounded? "How many got hurt?"_

"Most of it was collateral damage from the fight between Gai-sensei and the mist Ninja. Not many were hurt from that, but Kakashi-sensei and Itachi's fight caused some kind of super fire that killed a lot of people."

That was bad news but Sakura quickly dismissed the nausea it caused.

"And then Kakashi-sensei began fighting differently. I think Itachi asked where Naruto or Sasuke was. No one knows which of them they were after but Itachi going after his brother makes the most sense. The civilians who saw it said that you're sensei was making things disappear with his eyes! And the battlefield has all of these twisty spots where _something_ happened. It was as if he didn't care if anyone else got hurt."

Well there _was_ a reason she had been coming to see Ino first. She always had the gossip. The girl could filter through the bullshit and exaggerations and cut right to the details.

"So how did Sasuke-kun Take it? How did you calm him down?"

"He freaked! How else. But I eventually got him to see my dad. I know you would never trust me doing it but after I explained what I had done for you, Sasuke was almost too happy to see dad for a treatment."

After they spoke a bit longer they agreed that they had kept Sasuke waiting long enough.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Sasuke-kun." the echoed sound of their voices saying the same words sound in the the flower shop.

"That's fine." the Uchiha smiled. "Ino, I was actually stopping by to thank you for talking to your dad. I thought maybe you would like to get something to eat?"

Both girls stopped in their tracks.

"Sasuke, why are you only asking her?" Sakura's pouting voice was as cute as she could make it.

Looking at his teammate with a blank face, the Uchiha replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Well with how often you rejected Naruto, and as violently as you do. I thought my chances of asking without getting injured would be higher if I asked Ino."

0o0o0

Having payed off all her debts, Tsunade no longer had anything holding her back. She would become Hokage. The moment the council was able to confirm her position she would be making quite a few changes.

Starting with releasing Naruto's heritage as her sensei had commanded. Ending with the brutal humiliating dismemberment of the village council. She had heard of how they bickered when her teammate tried to ensure sensei's final wishes were met.

She had already seen to all the wounded of the most recent attack. At least the severely wounded. And she hadn't even began looking at the victims of the invasion.

They had been after Naruto. Hatake confirmed it when she woke him. His forbidden ocular jutsu had drained his chakra nearly past the point of survival, and the genjutsu placed on him the moment he slipped had kept him under for good.

After a short debriefing, the Jonin had to be put back to sleep.

It seemed Itachi was sick. And now _hurt_ as well. When he asked where Naruto was Kakashi simply blinded him! As well as everyone in line of sight of the battle at that moment. In the next moment, his hounds attacked full throttle and the Jonin leveled a full village block in his attempt to kill Itachi.

The missing-nin had been soundly beaten before he resorted to burning down the village.

The loss of his sight, even temporarily, had been all the advantage Kakashi had needed. Once his hounds sank their teeth into the Uchiha it was practically over. He had been blinded, hamstrung and bled out. Kakashi had almost cut him down with his chidori when the black fire appeared.

When the Uchiha began spraying his black fire at everything, the only way Kakashi could stop it was to warp it to another dimension.

He hadn't gotten it all, but he got most of it. And he _also_ got Itachi!

The man had lost a finger.

That was it.

But later on the finger had been enough to discover the illness.

And once Kakashi ran out of chakra, that was the end of the battle. He was put in the ultimate Uchiha genjutsu and left where he dropped, as Itachi's partner swooped in and pulled the man out before Kakashi's backup could rejoin the fight.

A small knock on her new office door came from a tall blond man. A Yamanaka. The Sannin felt a pang of mistrust. "Come in."

"Tsunade-sama, I would like your permission to examine Naruto's mind."

Red flags and warning bells, alarms and flares all over her mind went off! "NO!"

"I understand your reluctance, however the damage the boy suffered has become a point of interest for my clan. Admittedly it was my daughter's research into his condition that instigated it. However the acute recurring memory loss of a single specific person is something I myself would find intriguing."

"It's already been fixed. No Yamanaka is permitted to so much as _look_ at the boy without my expressed permission and presence. You should know the risks of entering his mind."

Her flat rejection and harsh refusal made it clear that she wasn't going to budge.

"On another note, Tsunade-sama. It _would_ be prudent to have him examined by a psychologist. I myself have seen to his teammate and from the boy's memories of the event, Naruto-kun was put through something that would traumatize even some of the most war hardened Jonin."

Tsunade couldn't deny that. Naruto had been damaged badly, not only in those fights, but also throughout the rest of his life. He was her grandson. It was time she knew everything she had missed.

"I'll take care of that. But since you're volunteering, you can begin compiling every scrap of information the village has over his life. If he ever had the sniffles or a papercut, I want to know when and why. The moment I have been coronated, I'll write out executive orders to correspond with this request. Including an all access pass for any information concerning him."

The Jonin's face went pale, and he rigidly acknowledged her statement. "I would suggest you look over the most recent village statues from the past ten years. You will need to know how Sandaime-sama has been managing the village since the Yondaime passed."

It was a good idea. Not that she hadn't already planned to. "Thank you for mentioning it. I never would have thought to do my homework."

Whether he thought that was sarcasm or serious, her glare was all the dismissal the man needed.

The Sannin knew what she needed to do. Her few glimpses into the Sandaime's rule through Naruto had been alarming to say the least.

But for now, She had a meeting in a dojo.

0o0o0

Uzumaki Naruto enjoyed sleeping in. it wasn't often that he even wanted to, but today he did. And so… He did.

He thought he had gotten enough sleep in the hospital, but after working out the last few days he realized he needed more rest now than he had before.

Shizune-nee had been upset at him for pushing too far. But he was fine after a night's rest so he did it again. And this was the result it seemed.

No big set back like she feared. All he needed was to sleep in for once.

Besides. He needed to catch up.

It had been over a month since he was hurt. There was no telling how much stronger Sasuke had gotten.

The thought of his teammate brought Naruto back in his mind. The boy had been genuinely worried about him. His attempts to become real friends had been enough to make Naruto giggle at the thought. He almost wanted to turn it around on the teme. Except that the boy seemed to mean it.

The other boy had even made his own assumptions about Naruto's romantic life. Just as their sensei had, he tried to lead the injured boy towards Hinata.

Naruto wasn't sure if he _did_ like her. Sure he felt somewhat responsible for what happened to her, and she _was_ kind awesome. And it wasn't like he had ever even thought of another girl like that. But he hadn't even know what liking _was_ until Kakashi-baka had explained it.

He was going to be confused about this part for a long time… the one-eyed lazy son of a bitch!

He still had a week of physical therapy before he could return to , and even then, as a Chunin it was his choice. And when he saw that man again he was going to tear him a new one! He'd take the man's entire collection and burn them! He'd shave off that gravity defying hair and super glue a black bowl-cut to his bald head!

Oh yeah! The Jonin was going to pay! He'd make him weep!

)-(

A flash of thought passed and he remembered a Chibi-Kashi curled in a ball weeping at the monument. He was a Jonin, and drunk as young as he was. He thanked the young boy's rival and sent him away. Little Gai had never seen his friend like this. But knew that such loss was hard to live with.

)-(

Naruto felt horribly sick. It was bad enough that he felt like he was peeping at the _old man's_ private memories. But now Kakashi-sensei's too!

How was he supposed to get revenge on someone he had seen weeping like that!

0o0o0

Shizune had gathered all of the documents, legal statues, and even court proceedings from the last ten years. Everything. It had taken almost thirty trips even with the Hokage-slaves… as Tsunade referred to the Chunin assigned to assist her.

Of course, if that was what her master demanded, she sure as hell wasn't going to argue. Tonton looked rather smug carrying that little whip in her mouth, marching like a royal general at arms.

It wasn't like she would have been able to carry it all by her self. Even if there hadn't been so much of it, she had nearly exhausted herself healing the elder medic's injuries.

How could that toad bastard be such a brute!

Monster!

She didn't want to say it, out of consideration for her loyal companion, but the word pig had even slipped out…

Hence letting the poor lady hold the whip.

Her master had been broken, almost as bad as miss Haruno said Naruto-kun had been. Laying in a pool of her own blood at the bottom of a crater. The entire dojo was smashed apart… Shizune simply refused to understand how Tsunade was able to simply brush it off as justice due.

The moment she was healed enough to move she set to work.

Ordering the Hokage-slaves to stack the last pile of scrolls and binders on the table, Shizune could barely even see her master through it all. The woman was no slacker. She had already passed through almost a third of the documents delivered…

Oh well, it seemed some of those had already been tossed at the door and were ready to be returned. Nodding at Tonton, the commanding pig swung her head around and the whip in her mouth cracked just behind a Chunin's back.

0o0o0

Page after boring page passed by. The Sannin knew she could use a drink, but she didn't have the resolve to keep working if she gave into that craving. Most of her wounds had already faded. Shizune did good work.

The shadow of the pain remained. And a part of her didn't really want the shame to fade.

Besides that, the medical legend had to be prepared. When she decided to oust the village council it had simply been a stubborn and petty thought, born from the descriptions she had heard from her grandson and _his ancestor_. Bastard.

However as she read each new law that was passed by her sensei, she realized the wrinkled sack of shit had screwed her almost as badly as her teammate.

How could the old bastard be such a senile fool! That stupid monkey had signed over so much and she hadn't even gotten through half the legal history of the last ten years!

She resigned herself to needing to see the rest. So she simply stood up and walked out. She passed over to the village archives and began looking over the laws since the day she left.

It took hours before she caught up to the time her son died. He had been a wonderful leader. But his predecessor was in no condition to retake the hat.

Tsunade had only needed to pull a few statues from her son's legal reign. And then she returned to the office where she had been examining her sensei's second reign.

More than half of these documents would have to stay.

If only she could find a loophole or a linchpin to cut out and send the whole mess falling down around the belligerent congress.

But she failed.

The third Hokage had sealed into law that the council held more power than the Hokage, one tiny bit at a time. But that didn't mean she couldn't simply bully them.

It had been a couple days since she began and she had found nothing to help her. However she kept out the majority of documents she'd had pulled. They would serve as a reminder of what she had to fix. Each one held a strip of the Hokage's power.

She was going to take each strip back. She would take it _all_ back!

And why? Because her grandson wanted to become Hokage. Because when he visited her, he would tell her more things he remembered and she would have to find them in all these papers.

She had even began asking him for details on some of the ones she found herself and he had provided. The kid had become a goldmine as far as her sensei's guilty conscience went.

His insight into the laws of the village had been twisted by his own views of them, but it was still the rotten monkey's memories.

Not that Naruto had any luck in choosing what he remembered. They only got a portion of the things she asked about, but from each one he would remember more.

0o0o0

It was over. All the ceremony and ritual had passed. She, Tsunade of the Senju clan had been named Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

She wasn't ready for the responsibility. She didn't even think she deserved it. Not after everything she had done.

If the villagers could see how she had acted as a child, or later on how often she had gotten drunk, or how she gambled, what happened in Shimaza no Gai, or even… _That_ … Her mind briefly drifted back to the Senju dojo.

The village wouldn't even let her through the gates if they knew everything she'd done.

It did seem like her teammate was going to be okay though. Her punishment had been painful. Humiliating. And in the end… only just a _little_ too far. But if an Icha-Icha Hate-Rape ever came out, she was going to murder the toad.

The last thing she needed was the village reading one of his smut novels and making the connection.

Getting her small blush back under control, Tsunade sent a runner out to inform all the council members that an emergency meeting was being called.

0o0o0

Naruto's things had been moved into the Senju compound. He had been given the choice between here, the Namikaze, Uzumaki, and even Ero-jiji's homes to move into. He still almost couldn't believe he had a family now.

He was going to miss his apartment, but it would fade. Just like when Jiji moved in with Biwako-chan, and left his small apartment behind.

Baa-chan's big meeting had gone well by the way she grinned. Even ero-jisan seemed in a better mood.

She had promised to tell him all about it after she became Hokage, but only if he promised to keep it secret until then. Jisan had also insisted he never tell anyone about the memories. Which meant that legally he wasn't supposed to know until his heritage was released.

Now that it was, the only ones who did know were Shikamaru's, Hinata's, and Kiba's parents. And the Cat anbu whom Baa-chan had named her new Anbu commander… And maybe the last guy who was the anbu commander before that… Who ever he was. Naruto still hadn't located that memory.

Today all three of them sat down and each of his grand parents told their side of the story. The fact that he had gone missing when he was seven was a little surprising. He could remember a few things about himself, but most of it was good things. Why didn't he remember that? Or the fact the Jiji had banished Jisan for almost five years?

His _extra_ memories were going to be kept secret from everyone, but if he wanted to tell people about his family it was his choice. Since Kakashi-sensei already knew about his dad, the Chunin decided it was okay to let him know about his grandparents too. But after a long and hard trail of thought, Naruto only had two people he wanted to tell, and Iruka-sempai was the second…

 _Sempai…_ Naruto thought to himself with a laugh.

0o0o0

When Naruto arrived at training ground seven the place looked completely different than he remembered.

It was colored with tiny details from Jiji's past.

And there at the monument stood his sensei. The Jonin who had known who his father was this whole time. The man who had tried to trick him into a relationship with someone. The Baka who had abandoned him to train Sasuke-teme! The Asshole who—

Naruto shook himself as another memory passed over him.

The Sandaime had known about the match!

He and this prick had _planned_ on the teme being late! Hehe, Well he had shown them all right!

Sitting on one of the training posts was his teammate Sasuke. The brooder was smiling for a change. He had seen Naruto. "Oi, Baka! What was sensei's first thoughts that he told us about our team?"

"That he didn't like us dumbass." Naruto replied and bumped the Uchiha's outstretched fist with his own.

Quickly jerking the hand back he shook it and looked at it as if it was melting off.

"Wait a second!? That plague that killed off your clan wasn't catching was it?" His mock of ignorance wasn't lost on the blushing Genin.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for making that up. I wanted to see what it was like to have someone _not_ whispering about my traumatic loss for a change."

Well that only made sense if his loss was worse than your entire family dying from illness. Which Naruto guessed would have made Sasuke into a germaphobe instead of an avenger.

Again, Naruto met with another missing memory, Naruto had nothing on the Uchiha massacre. Not even a stray thought years after the fact. It was as if Jiji had no idea it even happened.

"Hi Sensei, Sasuke-kun," The almost depressed greeting changed to a delighted and warm welcome when the pinkette saw Naruto. "Naruto-kun! Are you going to train with us today?"

Naruto recognised her. Sakura, the nurse who had gone with them to get Tsunade. "Hey Sakura-san, I didn't know you trained with Sasuke."

"Of course I do, I _am_ a member of Team Seven after all, or did you forget that?" As misplaced as her attempt at humor was, Naruto's mocking bow and apology to his kohai saved her from the glare Sasuke was ready to send her way.

After another round of introduction they began training. At first it was just some stretches but then they headed over to the lake and began waterwalking. Sasuke had it down, even if he was still a little shaky. Sakura was able to get through it in only a few moments before she joined Naruto in his laps around the lake.

Sometime around noon they stopped and Kakashi sent the two Genin to the mission's office, telling them to wait there for them.

"So, Naruto. Now that you know who your father is There are some things I thought we should talk about." the Jonin crouched down beside him looking him in the eye. "Firstly, I knew. And I know your probably mad that I never told you, but I wanted to be your sensei where your father was mine. And i would have lost that right if I broke the Sandaime's trust."

This was an apology! "I was selfish, but I spent years watching over your while I was in the Anbu and I was ready to simply be Kakashi-sensei. I don't need you to forgive me, I don't really care about that, but You have to forgive _him._ I might not be the best person for this talk but I feel that with my relationship to your dad, I may be the closest thing you have to family."

"Actually Sensei, My dad's parents are kinda cool too you know."

His reply made the copy ninja's head jerk as he gaped at the Chunin in front of him.

"Haha! Sensei you should see your face it's like a fish with a mask!" Naruto dropped to his butt and laughed at his wide eyed sensei.

"You know Minato sensei's Parents?" came the astounded voice of the Jonin.

"Yeah, but it's a secret, I can only tell you if you actually teach me something cool!"

"That's okay, I don't need to know. It'll be penance for never telling you about yours." Naruto could almost believe the man didn't want to know!

"Aww come on sensei!" the Chunin pleaded.

"Well…" the Jonin drew out his considering face. 'I suppose I could teach you how to smooth talk that Hyuuga girl who's so taken with you."

"That reminds me!" Naruto shouted as he leaped off the ground to a standing position. Pointing at his sensei he made his accusation. "You were trying to trick me! You jerk! I know exactly what you were doing with those hidden meanings and double wording and shit!"

Well, It would seem he had been caught after all. "Did it work?"

"Kinda." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Well Naruto, since I owe you for that too, how about I pay for the first three dates you take her on? Dining, Reservations, flowers, I'll even help you pick out a new outfit!"

"Whats wrong with my outfit!?" The boy shouted indignantly.

"Outside of it being your only one? I'd rather not be here all night reading off the list soo…"

0o0o0

They had left the training ground hours ago! Where the hell were those two!? Even Sasuke-kun had gotten impatient.

Godaime-sama was assigning missions for the first time today and wanted to accept the first mission she ever assigned.

Kakashi-sensei was supposed to come pick it up that morning, but per usual he never did.

The office was crowded when the two Genin had arrived. Tsunade-sama was pissed and had simply told the waiting shinobi, "If you don't like it, blame the lasy ass sensei of Team Seven. He's officially fair game to any retribution that doesn't involve property damage or other costs to the village. But leave his students alone, _hell_ take pity on them. They're not his students by choice!"

By the time _they_ got to the mission's office, it was nearly packed and others had already left or began gathering outside.

Finally the Jonin and Naruto burst through the doors. "Sorry we're late Hokage-baa-chan!" came Naruto joyful shout as he rushed to stand beside the Genin of his team.

"I had to shake down some old mutt for what he owed me... _By the way, Kiba... that wasn't funny, and you're going to get your shake down too..._ _**Anyway**_ the old mutt could only pay me with new cloths and dinner reservations. Soooo, wanting to get the most out of the deal I had to go with him to—"

" _ **Naruto!"**_ Sakura snapped at him, "That's not what you call the _Hokage!_ **Show some respect**!"

It was bad enough he had been rude to her during the trip but now she was the _Hokage!_ And worse! They were in public! All the Genin and Jonin who had teams were here! They didn't need to hear his lame attempt at one of sensei's excuses!

"Oh, yes, sorry." Naruto took a step back and bowed, "Hokage-baa- _sama?_ " He asked looking up at her and rubbing the back of his head.

She couldn't help it.

 _Really_ , she just _couldn't_.

 _Inner-Sakura_ cheered her on as she brought her hand up and swung it down on a collision course with the top of the baka's head.

The Hokage appeared instantly in front of her. Her still bandaged right arm held tightly in the medic's hand. "And what _else_ is my _Grandson_ _**supposed**_ to call me!?"

Sakura could only stare at her in shock as the woman leveled her with more killing intent than even Orochimaru had in the exam.

"If you _ever_ hit him again, _I will kill you where you stand."_

Sasuke's mouth dropped open. " _No way,_ **you're** the dobe's _**grandmother!"**_

There was a crunch, a sharp gasp of pain followed by whimpers, and Tsunade leaned her head back as her free hand grabbed her face.

" _ **Baka!"**_ the Fifth Hokage groaned into her palm.

* * *

 _~ Note_ ~

Yeah, Sakura took a good look at Ino's Clan scroll's. She made a copy and learned enough to try the jutsu. But she didn't go through with it…

 _Icha-Icha:_ Hate-Rape! Publishes at the start of the shippuden timeline of this story. Just thought you might want to know…

Tsunade's talks with Naruto and his window into her sensei's mistakes led her to looking closely at the laws passed in the last few years… her reaction to it was not pleasant. _But what will she do to correct the issue? And what happened during the meeting?_

Kakashi's fight with Itachi went differently. Very much so. But what would have happened if he had gone all out without regard for bystanders? What if he had been willing to actually level a village block to kill the man? You can't tell me there isn't a jutsu to blind everyone who can see the area… and that the copy ninja doesn't know it.

Once he tossed public safety to the wind it would have been easy for him to land a good hit.

This time Sasuke didn't chase after them. Why? _It shall be explained in his POV!_

Kakashi's offer to pay for Naruto's dates with hinata are not going to change this! It _is_ a Naru-Tenten. This just completes the triangle.

In the next chapter of this story, we will finally get to see the outcome of Naruto's heritage! And the very start of the " _Tenten's Ulterior Motive Challenge!_ " Sakura has been rejected completely… and her rebound guy has thoughts on another little princess at the moment… So what will happen when the third member of the Naru-love-hunt joins the fun?

And what did Kiba do that wasn't funny you may ask? _Find out!_

Next Chapter… A Rumor, A Relative, and A Romance!

Things Naruto _Still_ won't remember:

The End of the two battles he was just in.

The Uchiha Plot,

 _ **Anything**_ concerning Sakura from  before the Kyuubi was suppressed.

The private times between the third and his wife,

The worst and bloodiest scenes in the war,

Any of the abuse that Kakashi Erased.

And anything before the third made Chunin, because that was just too long ago. Naruto won't even be able to remember the actual promotion, he just knows that all his memories are from Chunin and up.

* * *

The Pilot chapter of Wisdom of Chance: An Evil Awakens will post a shortly after this chapter. It is a spin off starting at this chapter in progress.

Imagine if Sakura _had_ used the jutsu on Naruto… What would have been the consequences? How could that have lead her to becoming the _Jakuna no kogo? (Demon Empress)_

Anyway, that's in the spin off…

* * *

Most items in all my Naruto fan-fictions will be based off of T8: Retroversion's timeline. Many of these details will be universal across them all.

Meaning any mission or OC, or other major details will be included, based on their background and trigger events.

{This will not include Kurenai's conspiracy or Hinata's abuse}

* * *

While T8: Retroversion will be my main Fic, Five others are on my list to work on at the moment: LATE Naruto: Life After the Ends; Uzumaki: A Lone Fox; The Thousand Ninja; Village Hidden in Plain Sight; and Wisdom of Chance. **Descriptions on profile**.


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